The Philadelphia 76ers have a bevy of players whose fates for next season remain hazy. And going by the way this season has gone for the team, it is highly probable that the front office will deem it best to simply let the majority of them, if not all, slip into free agency and find new homes.
Counting those with player options and under two-way deals, the 76ers have as much as 12 players on their current roster who could very well test the free agency waters. Unlike last year, when the front office had a ton of cap space to spare, this time around, they would be constrained financially. Hence, they need to be much more selective on the players they want to re-sign to new contracts.
Having said that, if you want an educated guess as to the names that could get axed, focus on the possibly outgoing backcourt players. The team already has a logjam in both guard positions, and to balance the roster out, the front office needs to shed some of their guards and funnel their money into signing more frontcourt guns.
However, it looks like the front office will not have to dwell on the status of one particular player due to his own doing.
Jeff Dowtin may have already played himself out of the 76ers
Jeff Dowtin Jr., one of Philly’s two-way players, has been sparingly used until the team’s muddled injury situation forced him to play a ton of games. In 40 appearances in this campaign, the soon-to-be 28-year-old has averaged 7.1 points per game on a stellar 50.7 percent shooting from the field, which includes an impressive 41.2 percent clip from three-point territory in just 14.8 minutes per contest.
The 6’3” sharpshooter has been more than passable in his minutes. In the team’s most recent game against the Wizards, he finished with 30 points, draining 11 of his 15 shots and four of his seven attempts from rainbow country to lead the team to victory and snap a 12-game skid.
Given Dowtin’s solid season, the 76ers should perhaps consider bringing him back. However, at this rate, that front could be out of their total control as another team out there could take matters into their own hands and sign Dowtin for themselves.
To make things more complicated, as already stated, Philly does not have any more room for another guard, and trying to woo Dowtin into coming back only to bury him on the bench would be a huge disservice.
Losing a potential rotation cog like Dowtin could sting a little when the eventual need for shooting arises, but for his sake, it is probably better for the 76ers to inhibit from bidding for his services once and for all.