After delaying the seemingly inevitable, the gavel has finally been dropped last night with the Philadelphia 76ers getting booted out of the playoffs by the second-seeded New York Knicks, declining the hosts of a chance to push the series to a final decider.
The team’s elimination puts the curtain to their 2023-24 campaign, but it also commences what should be an eventful offseason for the franchise, albeit unofficially. And with most players on the roster facing uncertainty, here are seven players whom the 76ers front office definitely won’t look into bringing back next season.
7. Cameron Payne could be a victim of circumstance for the 76ers this offseason
Cameron Payne’s near-three month stay in Philadelphia was arguably more positive than negative, as initially thought of. After all, the indestructible guard helped the 76ers stay afloat when Tyrese Maxey missed some games due to a nagging injury.
Unfortunately, call Payne a victim of circumstance, if we’re keeping with the Daryl Morey-ian tradition of dreaming big before free agency kicks in. Payne probably isn’t high on the front office’s whiteboard, as there are some players in his position, stout names at that, who are expected to be available for trades or in free agency.
Payne, however, is a guarantee to be on an NBA roster next season. He is a rugged defender at his position, a jolt of scoring and secondary playmaking in competent second units, and someone who isn;t afradi to go teeth to teeth with the opponent. Any playoff team with a need for a backup combo guard would be glad to have him in the fold.
6. Philadelphia’s Mo Bamba reclamation project is likely over
Signed to a minimum deal last summer, Mo Bamba didn’t exactly have lofty expectations dawning over him when he first landed in Philadelphia. However, his perceived ceiling was simply too intriguing to relegate him into an afterthought.
Unfortunately for the young center, an afterthought is what he turned into in his first season with the 76ers. Sans the stretch where Joel Embiid’s injury forced the coaching staff to throw him into the fire, he was a negligible part of the roster, and his inconsistencies on defense and rebounding, as well as his unchanged proneness to foul trouble, made it difficult to give him a consistent role.
Bank on him signing elsewhere this summer. With the 76ers probably eyeing a more ambitious option to back up Embiid and perhaps incentivize them into giving the reigning MVP a more modest load, there is no room for a reclamation project anymore. Bamba’s journey toward consistent minutes in the NBA foothold will have to come in another city.
5. The 76ers won’t bring Kelly Oubre Jr. back — because they can’t
As talked about multiple times before, Kelly Oubre Jr. is a near-lock to leave Philly this offseason for reasons beyond the franchise’s control. As they signed the swingman for way below market value, they are simply too handicapped to tender a viable offer in a bid to retain his services.
Oubre was arguably the most productive minimum signing this season, showing that he can seamlessly fit into a system where he’s not pigeonholed into assuming the heaviest scoring load on the team.
At this juncture, a slew of teams, especially those under win-now edicts, probably wouldn’t hesitate to throw Oubre’s camp a reasonable offer near his perceived value. After all, he’s one of the better second unit operators in the league who can start when needed thanks to his better court sense and more competent defense.
4. Thank you for your 76ers service, De’Anthony Melton
De’Anthony Melton was nowehere near as bad during his two-season tenure with the 76ers. He was a great stabilizer, be it in the starting lineup or in the second unit, and was a net positive overall. However, his biggest question mark this season was his availability, and that may be enough for the front office to seek more certain options to fill his shoes.
Melton missed 44 games this season in addition to six playoff outings, which was actually one of the under-the-raadar reasons bhind the team’s instability in the backcourt outside of Tyrese Maxey. But even in the games he played, his overall efficiency scoring-wise was down, as he shot just 38.6 percent from the field.
The market should remain active for someone of Melton’s caliber and stylings, but the 76ers have to go bigger in trying to give Maxey a more eclectic running mate, though among the players on this list, the six-year veteran actually has the best chance of staying in Philly.
3. Local Philly hero Robert Covington has overstayed his re-welcome
Robert Covington’s second go-round with the 76ers was instantly met with excitement from the fanbase for justified reasons. However, fans probably skipped over the fact that there’s also solid backing behind his more limited appearances in recent years — and that will also be the main reason for his second departure from the franchise.
Simply put, Covington has shown very little to incentivize the 76ers into giving him staying power beyond this season. He’s missed a ton of games due to injury, and in the games that he played, he looked pretty replaceable and far from a must-have.
While his defensive numbers still look good — and the analytics still love him — it’s hard to look at Covington as a tenable rotation player moving forward. He offers almost nothing on offense save for the occasional (and cudgeled) three-pointer, and what the 76ers need the least is another PJ Tucker when they just unloaded the real deal. Sorry, Roco. You will still be a local hero, at least.
2. Buddy Hield’s rental act for the 76ers will remain as is
Buddy Hield was one of the best players on the court for the 76ers last night, posting 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from rainbow country in just 21 minutes. While impressive in a vacuum, your jaw will probably drop at the fact that his scoring output in Game 6 constituted nearly 91 percent of his total markers in the playoffs. For his career.
The sad news is, Hield’s one-game wonder last night is far from enough as an audition piece for a reward contract from the front office, though it probably shouldn’t linger for him. He’s still one of the most potent volume three-point shooters in the league, and his skill set will have no shortage of suitors.
Unfortunately, Philly has to shoot for a complete overhaul next season, especially on the margins. That includes going after non-one dimensional players who are prone to benching when their tricks run out of juice. Thus, the team’s rental for Hield during the trade deadline will probably stay as initially billed — a quarter-season rental. Oh, and alternatives are present.
1. Tobias Harris, Tobias John Harris, Tobias Harris
Did you know that Tobias Harris is the cousin of former NBA veteran Channing Frye? Well, just like his kinsman’s patronymic, he got cooked to smithereens in what could — and should — be his final act donning the symbolic 76ers colors.
In 29 not-so-fleeting minutes for the 76ers in Game 6, Harris, who has 60 games worth of playoff experience to his name, turned in a grand sum of zero points. Yes, you read that right — the veteran laid a big, fat egg to put the proverbial ribbon to another disappointing individual season, especially when scaled to his ginormous salary which the entire city of Philadelphia should already be rejoicing over for being…done.
In a world where sports discourse has already become too toxic and posion-laden for purifying reversal, completely shunning someone for a bad showing only worsens it. But if we’re talking about perhaps the worst performance ever in recent years, well, good-guy trial card can absolutely be lifted.
Thank you for being a Sixer for five years, Tobias Harris (and for the cap space, I guess). No offense, but you will definitely not be missed.