Almost no team in the league can lay a claim as having had a worse season than the Philadelphia 76ers this year. Looking at their roster, it is an absolute tragedy that the squad never even came close to sniffing the postseason, although it is unerring that they were hit the hardest by the proverbial injury bug in the 2024-25 circuit.
Still, the 76ers do not project as one of the most hopeless franchises moving forward. Not to grandstand on moral victories, but the front office at least has a semblance of a plan with this roster, no matter how murky it seems given the situation with Joel Embiid — the main force at the center of things for Philly.
It is actually rather easy to pinpoint which teams are in a lulling state, especially with the play-in tournament nearing its conclusion. “Mid” teams which flunked the sudden-death test, after all, are the perfect representations of those that currently reside in the NBA’s purgatory.
Just last night, everyone was able to witness one team in particular going on a one-way trail toward that unenviable realm.
The 76ers managed to dodge an absolute disaster in DeMar DeRozan after the Kings’ play-in blunder
Sacramento had an advantageous draw going for it as it hosted tenth-seed Dallas for the rights to go against eight-placed Memphis in a do-or-die qualifier for the playoffs. Yet even with that important edge, the Kings managed to put on an embarrassing display as the Mavericks — the laughingstock of the NBA this season — handed them a beatdown.
DeMar DeRozan paced the Kings with a 33-point performance in 43 minutes of gameplay, yet despite his individual merit, the result speaks for itself. It only reinforced what has long been theorized by fans and pundits alike over the years — that he is far from someone who can function as the heavy-lifter on a winning team.
The 76ers were in the running to land DeRozan in free agency last year before they went ahead and pivoted to Paul George, but from the likes of it, such partnership would have been rocky to say the least.
With Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey already aboard, DeRozan would have been a pretty dangling fit thanks to his skill set, which is difficult to integrate next to ball-dominant stars. Just look at how Domantas Sabonis fared next to him. Sacramento simply looked lost all game long without any sort of fluidity on both ends.
At this point in his career, having DeRozan take the limelight only highlights what he lacks. While still a lethal one-on-one scorer, he is a near-negligible threat without the ball, a generally below-average defender, and a ball-stopper who can make the offense stagnant.
With all due respect to the All-Star’s body of work, the Philadelphia 76ers clearly were never going to be a good fit for him. And while the franchise isn’t looking very good at this moment, it could have been worse.