Philadelphia 76ers: Was it a summer of blunders or success?
Overall
It was not just fans that were excited by the Elton Brand’s first offseason as head of the 76ers organization.
Basketball Insiders gave their summer moves a ’B+’ while the Bleacher Report gave them a ‘B’. People in general thought it was a good summer, maybe a bit too much money to Harris and Horford, and losing JJ Redick was not ideal, but definitely considered a good rookie effort by Brand.
Even the computers liked the team the 76ers had built. Nationally known site 538 gave them a 27% chance at winning the NBA title, the highest of any team.
Outside of the Korkmaz signing, there was no moves made that were universally panned.
What people think now: Need a tailor, bad fit
Outside of Korkmaz, no one who was brought in or re-signed over the summer could you say is playing above their contract.
The fit for this roster can be best called ‘clunky’. Embiid, Simmons and Horford have shown so far no capacity to play together. Horford has not looked that hot overall, sometimes appearing to be a player whose gas tank is empty.
Defensively, the team is indeed much improved, particularly from the human turnstiles of last year. However, the Sixers are just eighth in the NBA in team defense. That is good, but when you bank on being an elite defense to succeed, not good enough.
Offensively, the Sixers did not take into account that four of its five starters were not good outside shooters, making the loss of Redick feel even bigger. Their bench did not help as no one outside of Korkmaz could make a ‘3’ consistently.
Since this team is supposed to be built for the playoffs (whenever and wherever they are) the final grades can not be etched in stone.
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But right now the 76ers are No. 6 in the East after finishing third the past two seasons. Was Elton Brand’s first offseason a disaster? Not at all. But it also looks like it has not set them up for a championship run.