The Philadelphia 76ers went from being a lucky bounce away from possibly winning an NBA championship to getting their butts kicked in the first round by a short-handed Boston Celtics in the space of a year.
So the big question is: How did we get here?
Simplest answer: A Summer of Blunders. No doubt.
Looking at the wreckage that is the finish of the Philadelphia 76ers season, it is easy to see the many blunders (some of the extremely boneheaded variety) that the ‘collaborative’ front office owner Josh Harris likes to brag about, committed in the Summer of 2019.
While fans and the media can Monday Morning Quarterback now and point out the foolishness of what they did, no one was saying it when Sixers training camp, the unofficial end of the offseason, started up
Most of the talk was how the Sixers were going to win the title with ‘Bully Ball’ and TNT analyst Charles Barkley said ‘the 76ers will win the championship’ and even statistical site FiveThirtyEight gave them a good chance of winning it all as recently as February.
Coach Brett Brown was talking about being the No. 1 seed and GM Elton Brand about how they expected to make a long run in the playoffs, so it is not like fans did not receive some reason for being wildly optimistic — even though those reasons turned out awfully wrong.
Instead of making sweeping generalities, let’s look at all the major transactions the 76ers front office (officially headed by general manager Elton Brand, but the ownership group, coach Brett Brown, CEO Scott O’Neil, Executive VP Alex Rucker and assistant GM Ned Cohen also have a say in it) made from the end of the 2018-19 season to the start of training champ.
All transaction information is from Basketball Reference.
The Draft
Thinking at the time: The Sixers came away with Matisse Thybulle and Marial Shayok, both good choices, particularly considering where they were selected.
Thybulle might be the best defensive player in the entire draft. To snag him at No. 20 was a fine choice. Shayok was named the G-League Offensive Player of the Year after being taken 54th by the 76ers. A nice return on a low second round pick.
But even positive news came with some screwing up by the Sixers front office.
Blunders: Somehow, the Celtics got wind of the Sixers’ interest in Thybulle. Boston picked four spots ahead of the Sixers and GM Danny Ainge was able to extort a high second round pick (34th) as the price for having them get Thybulle for the Sixers.
The Sixers proceeded to sell or trade all their remaining second round draft picks except for 54. While the owners’ pockets were enriched, none of the moves gained anything for the team on the court.
Brand defended the second round giveaway afterward by saying young players in most circumstances do not help you win immediately.
(Note: The Celtics list seven rookies on their roster to three for the Sixers).
Bye-Bye Butler
Thinking at the time: Jimmy Butler had been the Sixers best player in the playoffs, was their ‘closer’ in fourth quarters, had gotten close with franchise player Joel Embiid and was someone who contributed on both sides of the court.
However, he and Brett Brown did not get along, he had a reputation for, well, being Jimmy Butler, and the front office was looking to ink Ben Simmons to a long-term deal. The way Butler took over in the playoffs while Simmons was shoved literally to the corner, might have made that harder if Butler stayed.
Blunder: The Sixers ended up trading Butler to the Miami Heat for Josh Richardson, basically the same type of player as Butler, except not as good (or cantankerous). So they gave up two starters in a trade for Butler that turned into a one-year rental.
Importantly, they also took away a player Embiid was comfortable with (a trend). They also never found a player to replace Butler as ‘the closer’, to disastrous consequences in the playoffs.
Embiid likes them, so they have to go
Thinking at the time: J.J. Redick and Embiid worked well on offense together. As one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, opposing defenses had to respect Redick, which opened things up inside for Embiid.
But with the signing of Al Horford, there wasn’t enough money left over to pay Redick. He had been a defensive liability in the past two playoffs anyhow, so his loss on offense would be offset, went the thinking, by the improved defense of Richardson in his spot.
For good measure, the Sixers also let backup point guard T.J. McConnell walk. A scrappy, popular player whom LeBron James had tried to get Cleveland to trade for a couple years ago, he was jettisoned even though, since they held his Bird rights, they could pay him whatever they wanted despite being over the salary cap.
Blunder: Embiid felt isolated and abandoned to start the season. He later admitted on Redick’s podcast he ‘felt uncomfortable’ and ‘was not himself‘.
The Sixers oddly seem to always get rid of teammates Embiid is friends with. Before this year it was Justin Anderson, a decent role player, who was given the heave ho and, before him, Nerlens Noel.
One just has to look across the street at the Eagles and their handling of their franchise player, Carson Wentz, for some guidance. They make sure he is comfortable in his role, the other quarterbacks are good teammates and get along well together and, wow, how many times did they bring back his close friend, wide receiver Jordan Matthews, despite a lack of production.
The Sixers instead strip Embiid of teammates he likes or plays well alongside, insert players who will make things more difficult for him to post up and add lots of poor passers who can not get him the ball.
No wonder he was ticked off. Doesn’t every front office wants to get their best player feeling like they don’t care about him (sarcasm).
Let’s waste money on Al Horford
Thinking at the time: With the Boston Celtics, Al Horford had been a thorn in Joel Embiid’s side since he began his NBA career. Horford was not big at 6-foot-10, but he was crafty, fairly athletic, and a smart defensive player. Along with Marc Gasol, Horford probably guarded Embiid better than any other center.
One statistic that stood out following the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to Toronto last year was that the Sixers were outscored by 12 points in the mere 96 seconds that Embiid was not in the game. That stat was not an outlier, as the Sixers were crushed in general when ‘The Process’ was not in the lineup.
GM Elton Brand understood that fact, as well as that the Sixers performed their best when they had a ‘big’ lineup against Toronto.
So when the 76ers brain trust got together to strategize about impending free agents, the decision was made to throw a ton of money at Horford and lure him away from Boston.
The thinking was: 1. It damaged a division rival. 2. It solved the problem of the huge dropoff when Embiid was out of the game with a five-time All-Star. 3. The Sixers would be a defensive colossus, with Horford starting at power forward and moving 6-foot-9 Tobias Harris to small forward.
What team could match that frontline? The Sixers would block out the sun defensively with their height.
So Brand pulled the trigger and inked Horford for four years and $96 million (which might go to $109 with incentives).
What could go wrong?
Blunder: Hoo boy, where do we begin? To call it a boneheaded move would be an insult to bones.
The analytics person who said Embiid, Horford and Ben Simmons could all co-exist offensively, sure go sign him, should find the lock on their office door changed and escorted out of the 76ers building by security immediately.
Somehow, although it was in the media, the fact Horford was experiencing some knee problem during last season was apparently not a red flag to the Sixers’ brass, who we assume had some access to Horford’s medical records before signing him. After all, the 76ers medical staff screwing up a diagnosis has never occurred (in the past hour).
Although there was no major injury that Horford suffered this season, it was pretty obvious he did not have the athleticism of the past.
Of course, did you really need a doctor to tell you a post player who would turn 34 before the end of the season and had 12 years of banging other big guys under his belt might start slowing down? And the Sixers have three more years of Horford!
So the Sixers still get killed when Embiid is not in there, have no cap space for future deals and are stuck with a player on the decline with a contract like a millstone around the team’s neck.
Other than that, great deal. Yup, the Sixers again one-upped Danny Ainge, just like when the swindled him out of Markelle Fultz.
Let’s waste even more money .. how about Tobias Harris?
Thinking at the time: The Sixers still did not look like title contenders last season despite the Jimmy Butler trade so, at the trade deadline, Brand gave the Clippers a boatload of draft assets that Sam Hinkie had collected plus rookie sharpshooter Landry Shamet (which brings the question: If you are not bringing Redick back, why give away Shamet? Your only other good outside shooter) for Tobias Harris.
Harris had been having a just-below All-Star season with the Clippers. He was a good low-volume outside shooter who did not need the ball, so the analytic people gave the thumbs up.
Rolling out a lineup of Harris, Embiid, Simmons, Butler and Redick seemed downright scary. Teams would have to pick their poison on who to leave open. Now, with Horford on board, the Sixers’ frontline would be even scarier this season.
With Butler and Redick gone, there would be more room for Harris to operate and more shots for him to take, so the Sixers signed him to an almost-max deal: $180 million for five years. Yeah, it was a lot of money, but Harris had plenty of suitors waiting for him to go free agent if the Sixers did not pony up the bucks — so the signing was a no-brainer.
Blunder: Harris the great shooter did not shoot well with the Sixers last year. His shooting percentage dropped to 46.9 percent and his 3-point shots were terrible. He made 32.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, about the same as Embiid.
The playoffs were no better. In Game 4, Harris shot a horrific 7-for-23 from the field. If he makes half his shots, the Sixers probably win that game, go up 3-1 on the Raptors and everything changes.
So despite not fitting in and not performing well when it counted, the Sixers signed him to a huge contract.
Basically, after giving up so much for Butler and then Harris, to have both of them walk after playing less than a season with the Sixers would have been a major embarrassment to the organization. Harris’ wily father-agent realized it and bled Brand for every dollar he could.
As for this season, Harris has been even worse in the playoffs, shooting 33.3 percent in the first three games. Does a hot-shooting Harris turn things around for the Sixers when they lost close games to the Celtics in Games 1 and 3? Maybe.
But the Sixers have four more years (!) of a good player being paid like a superstar who in two tries has not excelled in the playoffs.
Taking an exception to the 76ers exception (Do not read Hive)
Thinking at the time: With the salary cap filled to the brim thanks to the Harris and Horford signings, Brand and his collaborators had only one chance to pay for an impact player, as they had the Room Exception.
Since they were over the cap, the rest of the roster would have to filled out with minimum-salary players and rookies except for the Room Exception, where they could give a player almost $10 million for two years. Not a ton but a decent amount for a solid veteran looking to play on a contender.
Brand decided to use it on 6-foot-8 Mike Scott. He had come over as part of the Harris trade and, along with James Ennis, had been one of the few subs coach Brett Brown could count on in the playoffs.
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Scott had proven to be tough, a good outside shooter (his 41.2 percent 3-point shooting had been tops on the team during the regular season) and a great locker room guy. He also hit it off with the fans, who called themselves the ‘Hive’.
Right after the loss to Toronto, Scott told the media he had told Brand in their postseason interview he wanted to come back to the Sixers.
Brand, an ex-teammate of Scott’s, acceded to his demand, as the Hive rejoyced.
Blunder: This is not the mistake with the biggest impact, but it might be the most obvious one.
Scott did not shoot well in the playoffs (only 35.3 percent from 3) and was a defensive liability, albeit still a heck of lot better than the alternatives Brown had.
Scott would turn 31 years old during the next season. There was no untapped potential, he is what he is: a good locker-room guy and solid journeyman reserve who when he gets hot from outside can help a team.
He had never made more than $3.3 million in a season and now, despite now in his early 30s, he would be making a million and a half more than that for TWO YEARS.
Ennis also wanted to come back, and he did, for the veteran minimum (he later would be traded to Orlando where he became a starter for a playoff team).
Having Scott come back was not the mistake, he just should have received the same salary offer as Ennis. Did Brand really think teams would be throwing money at a career sub in his early 30s with a career average of 7.0 points? I guess he did.
Scott is the sixth-highest paid player on the team, although he usually was ninth or 10th player in the rotation, if coach Brett Brown played him at all.
The Room Exception could have been used on maybe a slick playmaker (Reggie Bullock, Derrick Rose or Ish Smith for a third time?) or a sold outside shooter (Kyle Korver or Rodney Hood?) or some good bench depth (Markieff Morris, JaMychal Green or Justin Holiday?), as all those listed ended up signing for around the the room exception salary.
Would any of them have helped the Sixers through some tough stretches this season? We will never know.
Positives?
Although it is certainly time for doom and gloom among 76ers fans, we want to be fair and give the current Sixers front office plaudits for the positive moves they made last summer.
I will have to whip out my microscope to find the things that went well:
They signed center Norvel Pelle to a two-way contract (later converted to full NBA contract), that kind of worked out.
Shake Milton was signed to a four-year very team friendly contract. That move has certainly paid off.
The draft picks? Oops, we did that already.
Sorry, that is all I have. It truly was the Summer of Blunders.