Philadelphia 76ers are missing out on the buyout market
The Philadelphia 76ers only made one move at the NBA trade deadline. They also signed Paul Reed to a regular NBA contract. Yet, outside of the move that brought in George Hill and Ignas Brazdeikis, the Sixers haven’t made any moves to strengthen their bench.
I’ve already written about whether or not the 76ers front office is overconfident in the roster. While I ultimately came to the conclusion that the playoffs will determine whether or not they are overconfident, it does seem a bit concerning that they still haven’t made any moves to sure up the back end of the roster.
The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t taking advantage of the buyout market.
There were some interesting free agents on the market that Philly has failed to allure to the franchise. The likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Isaiah Thomas, Ben McLemore, Dewayne Dedmon, Gorgui Dieng, and Jeff Teague.
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The Sixers still need some shot creation off the bench and more depth at the power forward/center positions. While the Sixers don’t have an open roster spot, they could easily waive the like of Brazdeikis to help create roster spots.
There are some free agents that would be an upgrade over Brazdeikis at this point. Head coach Doc Rivers’ own son Austin Rivers is a free agent who is a score first combo guard. Young centers like former Sixer Justin Patton and second year big man Mfiondu Kabengele are also free agent options. Another young player to keep tabs on is wing Justin Jackson.
Outside of Rivers, who has a downside because of who his father is, none of these players move the needle in a major way for the Sixers in terms of championship contention. Missing out on some of the big name buyout candidates has hurt the 76ers championship aspirations and is a failure of the front office.
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It’s a shame that the Philadelphia 76ers missed out on some big names in the buyout market. However, there are still some free agents that could upgrade the end of the bench heading into the playoffs.