Many expected LeBron James' final decision to lead to a flood of follow-up signings in NBA free agency. After the superstar forward chose the Philadelphia 76ers, some of the league's most notable free agents remained in place on the open market.
This week, ESPN listed the top six unrestricted free agents, and they are all considered to be "win-now" pieces for a contending team. Although the Sixers don't have enough space to add their 15th man at the moment, one of these guys could replace a cut candidate or remain on the market until December, when the Sixers can start thinking about their next signing.
The players the Sixers should consider
Let's start with the obvious position of need. We've been talking about it for weeks now that the Sixers are clearly the weakest at the center spot. As great as Joel Embiid is, playing 40 games seems like his max at this stage of his career. Behind him are two question marks in Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti.
Kevin Love has made his availability known to the Sixers. According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the veteran's agent has "been in touch" with the Sixers' front office. That's likely due to the presence of his former teammate, LeBron James. Love's probably not going to be the best "big" available between free agency and the trade market, but if he's truly a top free agent option, he's the only one that fits the Sixers' current need. If I'm the Sixers, Love isn't a Plan A, but someone to consider.
Bradley Beal is an intriguing option. When he was getting paid a boatload of money with the Washington Wizards and the Phoenix Suns, he was somebody that teams were avoiding at all costs. The Sixers did have prior interest in Beal, as Joel Embiid has a solid relationship with him, so that is something to keep in mind.
These days, Beal won't get paid over $50 million. He landed $5.3 million from the Los Angeles Clippers last season, and went down with a season-ending injury early on, which has to affect his value. His last "full season," which included just 38 starts in 53 games, averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting 38.6% from three.
If Beal's available in a few months, and Labaron Philon Jr. doesn't look ready, and Anfernee Simons is a strong enough trade piece to help with a solid frontcourt upgrade, I would look at Beal.
Just look the other way
Jonathan Kuminga is a polarizing player at this stage of his career. Many want to blame Steve Kerr for his failed Golden State run. It's kind of difficult to go against a Hall of Fame-worthy head coach's ideas. The Warriors didn't want to pay Kuminga big money long-term. He went to the Atlanta Hawks, had some flashes, but still isn't getting the deal he wants. Is every coach just bad then? Is Kuminga not that good? Either way, the Sixers don't need to give the league its answer on the former lottery pick.
James Harden is still on the free agency market, although he is expected to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Daryl Morey is out of Philadelphia, so if he ever wanted to come back, the chance wouldn't be at zero percent. If Harden wanted to have a full-circle career moment and go back to six-man days on a team-friendly deal, that would've been intriguing, but that right there is a zero percent chance.
Not only is Harden going to get paid well over the minimum, but he's also still looking to start at this stage of his career. He's not going to be available when the Sixers would need him to be, so just forget we ever even talked about this.
As for the two former Sacramento Kings, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, I just can't be convinced that they can contribute to winning basketball at this stage of their careers. DeRozan was good in Chicago, but the Bulls weren't good. He was decent in Sacramento, but the Kings were terrible. Let another contender find out.
I might be slightly more bullish on Russell Westbrook than most at this stage of his career, but I read 'A Hollywood Ending' by Yaron Weitzman. I can't imagine that LeBron and Westbrook want to run it back. Again, maybe Philon's struggling and the Sixers feel the need to bring in a seasoned ball-handler, but Westbrook is likely off the market by then.
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