The Philadelphia 76ers are the unofficial winners of the offseason, and with the kind of moves they have been able to pull off early into the summer, that tag will be difficult to remove. Be that as it may, the new-look front office seems to be intent on doubling down on their bid for the title next season given their continuous pursuit of some of the most sterling names in the market, notably LeBron James.
Well, if their bid for James does not get chosen, the 76ers actually have another star-level option who could be had for dirt cheap. Enter DeMar DeRozan, who had just been released by the Kings and will now enjoy the ample leeway he will be getting as he enters the open market. That is a player which Philly should seriously consider going after.
DeRozan had a career resurgence before a move to the Kings basically stunted his trajectory as a longstanding star. Now, Sacramento has decided on its stance moving forward. However, that is not at all an indictment on DeRozan's continuous effectiveness as a scorer, especially from the mid-range zones and inside the paint. Those traits are going to be tempting for the 76ers.
The 76ers could set their sights on DeMar DeRozan in free agency
After trading for Jaylen Brown and signing Anfernee Simons, the 76ers have even more potent scorers on their roster. However, if there is one thing they are clearly still lacking, it is the fact their bench scoring still projects to be below average next season.
Playoff teams are reportedly expected to indicate their interest in signing the multi-time All-Star, which makes it a tad dubious that the 76ers are never going to show any degree of interest in DeRozan. While there are clear red flags in his game, they are going to be more concealed if he is open to, say, a sixth man role off the bench.
DeRozan averaged less than 20 points per outing this past season for the first time since his fourth season in the league, but he still was an efficient scoring machine. He canned 49.7 percent of his field goal attempts while also averaging 4.1 assists per outing while turning the ball over just 1.2 times a game.
The 76ers need bench scoring and some more playmaking –– both boxes DeRozan can tick off. As long as he is amenable to a more streamlined role, Philly should definitely try to get their hands on the six-time All-Star.
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