The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of important decisions to make this offseason, but right off the top of their list is the fate of some of their key free agents, most especially Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes. Most people believe that the front office is predisposed toward keeping them both, but their cap situation makes it so that it is more prudent to make an actual selection instead.
However, the bigger problem to address for the 76ers is more than just the need to drop the hammer on one and stick with the other. If there is anything which both players cannot –– and will never be able to –– offer to the team, it is size. Philly is a team that plays small for the most part, and it is likewise where they are most effective. Be that as it may, the playoffs showed that such configuration is simply not viable on a full-time basis.
The 76ers need to inject more size in their lineup, particularly in order to raise their defensive ceiling as a unit. This season, they made a leap in defensive rating, but the bar was set so low during the campaign prior that their middling team defense hardly imbues much confidence in their ability to elevate that drastically next season.
The 76ers need to address their lack of size this offseason
The most tenable option for the 76ers front office is to prefer keeping Oubre over Grimes and continue to add more size, especially in the wing positions. While the team does not necessarily have players who completely lack acuity on the defensive end, playing small can only help them so much when it comes to certain matchups.
Gang rebounding is also another key area that will be bolstered if the 76ers deploy a more sizeable lineup. Philly ranked 17th among all teams in rebounds per game and 21st in rebounding percentage, reinforcing the fact that they are in dire need of players who can crash the boards more easily aside from their actual big men.
Given the organic hoopla associated with selecting a player and discarding the other, the think piece that is choosing between Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes yields a more invigorating discourse. However, the real issue for the 76ers is their lack of size at the wing positions, and that should be the actual concern lying in the back of their minds.
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