As of writing, the Philadelphia 76ers have not done anything new, but the team had already gotten a taste of both the good and the bad.
The 76ers, as everyone knows by now, have little leeway to make big moves in free agency. Thanks to the reckless spending they pulled off last year, the team now has only a handful of options to improve the roster through new additions or keeping guys on the team.
For starters, the 76ers face a really tall task when it comes to ticking off their boxes. On top of their list of priorities is keeping Quentin Grimes, but following shortly is also re-signing Guerschon Yabusele, who has been tremendous for them during the recently concluded campaign. of course, the 76ers also have some pressing needs they need to address.
To those ends, Philly just got received some good news that would have been sweeter had it not been attended by a bad one.
The 76ers get a taste of both the good and the bad as free agency begins
For the bad, the 76ers missed a huge opportunity to solve their pressing woes when it comes to three-point shooting and size at forward with Jake LaRavia. The 23-year-old unexpectedly came at a very cheap price, to the point where it can arguably be deduced that the front office did not even get wind of such a meager price tag.
As currently constructed, Philadelphia remains in dire need of shooting, and the options in free agency are waning. The front office may be forced to settle this via trade, although that could take them a long while given the quality — or lack thereof — of their available trade chips.
But onto the good side, the 76ers may have just cleared two hurdles in their bid to re-sign Yabusele, whom everyone expects to command a lucrative pay raise this offseason.
San Antonio, which was reported to be Philly’s main competition for Yabusele, had just inked a considerable deal with free agent center Luke Kornet (which also weakens a key rival in the Celtics, just to add). While the move did not completely paralyze them from going after the Frenchman, the Spurs will now be unable to truly overpay to snag him from the 76ers.
While the odds are still low, the Philadelphia 76ers have a slightly better chance at keeping Guerschon Yabusele, which will instantly grade out as a huge A+ for the team.