Now that Summer League is over, the NBA is about to enter its lull of the offseason. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be headlines that won’t affect the Sixers this offseason. The most important of which is that James Harden has officially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now that Harden has officially re-joined the historic franchise, he makes up half of Philly’s elite duo with Joel Embiid. Despite Harden dealing with lingering injury last, he and Embiid made a dominant duo.
“These rankings are done based on projecting that every player will be healthy and the current roster with no potential trades taken into account.”
Heading into next season, it can be argued that the Sixers’ dynamic duo will be one of the best in the NBA. As we are in the offseason, it feels like the right time to rank the Sixers’ two-man group against every other team’s dynamic duos in the NBA.
These rankings are done based on projecting that every player will be healthy and the current roster with no potential trades taken into account. With that being written, let’s begin.
30. Spurs: Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell
Trading Dejounte Murray was a signal from the San Antonio Spurs that they are ready to rebuild. Letting Lonnie Walker IV walk in free agency also was another sign that a full rebuild is coming. Even Sixers former head coach Brett Brown was brought back to the Spurs with his experience in player development.
With that in mind, the dynamic duo of the rebuilding Spurs is Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell. Both a young athletic wings that can be forces on both ends of the court. However, both are still not close to reaching their potential.
Vassell just finished his second season and he took a big leap from his rookie year. Entering his third season, it’s fair to assume that he can average more than 12.3 points on 36.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line. If he wants to take the next step in his development, then he will have to be able to create for himself off the dribble more.
Johnson is the best player on the Spurs now. He won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the Olympics. He can guard three positions and is a legit two-way player. Despite averaging 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, while converting 39.8 percent of his 3-pointers, he could be in for a career year this upcoming season.