Sixers: Yea or Nay on re-signing every free agent

Should the Sixers bring back Paul Millsap?

Paul Millsap came to Philadelphia in the James Harden trade. He was immediately handed the reigns of backup center in lieu of Andre Drummond, and he immediately became the bane of existence for Sixers fans everywhere. It somehow got worse soon afterward with the signing of DeAndre Jordan, but even then, the Sixers probably wouldn’t have gone to Jordan if Millsap was anything close to playable.

There’s a lot to be said about Paul Millsap’s career. He has been a very good player in the NBA for a long time. He was a four-time All-Star in Atlanta, and he was a rock-solid NBA starter in Denver as recently as two years ago. But times have changed, and Millsap is now 37 years old. He’s smart and he’s competitive, but his body can no longer keep up.

The Sixers need to embrace the youth movement at center. Again, there’s just no reason to keep stashing unplayable veteran centers behind Embiid. It was different when Amir Johnson or Greg Monroe was the only real choice. But now the Sixers have a sustainable long-term option in Paul Reed, and an exciting third stringer in Charles Bassey. Millsap is too slow to slide up to power forward, and while he is undoubtedly a positive influence on the locker room (and even the Sixers’ young bigs), there are simply better uses of a roster spot.

So, no, Paul Millsap should not be with the Sixers next season. Doc Rivers is a stubborn man who is hard to please, but one has to imagine Paul Reed’s performance in the playoffs finally won him over. The Sixers seem ready to move on from the era of milquetoast 40-year-old centers, so it’s time to leave Millsap in the past.

Final vote: NAY