The Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2025-26 season with a huge chip on their shoulders. After missing the playoffs last season, the franchise cannot afford another slip-up by missing the playoffs or not making it far in the postseason. After all, this team has way too much talent to keep feeding the naysayers with unflattering returns.
But to make as much noise as possible next season, the 76ers front office had the primary duty of ensuring that the roster is as foolproof as it can get. Unfortunately, that is a tall task for them, and in all reality, the team did not do much this offseason outside of what was expected from them — drafting VJ Edgecombe and other prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Aside from the fact that the roster is not entirely set yet thanks to the front office’s ongoing standstill with Quentin Grimes due to his complicated restricted free agency, the team still faces the same problems it did last season, namely the lack of reliable three-point shooting, defense, and rebounding.
The foremost of those, three-point shooting, remains a big problem. And to counter that, the 76ers might be forced to resort to a sensible, yet dangerous option that could backfire big time.
The 76ers must avoid falling into Eric Gordon’s trap next season
One of the team’s very few reliable three-point shooters is Eric Gordon, whom the 76ers inked to a new deal this summer much to the chagrin of fans. Last season, he was unplayable for the most part, but finished the campaign draining 40.9 percent of his three-point tries.
Despite the team’s loaded backcourt, there is perhaps a small window for Gordon to sniff the hardwood thanks to him being a proven three-point threat. However, while that seems like a handy in-house fix to such a glaring issue, the coaching staff must avoid falling into that trap.
At this point in his career, Gordon is a one-trick pony who does not really offer anything aside from spotty shooting from beyond the arc. Why spotty? Well, aside from a fiery stretch in December, Gordon could not even throw a rock into the ocean if he wanted to. He shot the ball so poorly to start the year off that he quickly lost his spot in the starting lineup.
Really, the better option for the 76ers is for the front office to keep searching the market for sharpshooters who are not liabilities in almost every facet of the game. Eric Gordon has been a very productive combo guard for his career, but the truth of the matter is that he is done.