With the offseason having unofficially begun for the Philadelphia 76ers, the front office is most probably already on their whiteboard and busy envisioning all possible scenarios in free agency. After all, the franchise does have reason to be an early bird owing to their king-sized cap space and slew of outgoing players that will free up a ton of roster spots.
Some teams are still playing, but even those that were already booted out of contention still managed to make an impression this postseason. And in the spirit of the playoffs, here are some players from each East playoff team the 76ers should sign in the offseason.
1. Celtics big man Luke Kornet could be the value backup the 76ers need
As if it wasn’t any clearer this season, the 76ers desperately need a solid insurance plan behind Joel Embiid. Last season’s Most Valuable PLayer doesn’t have the most durable of bodies, and he’s not getting any younger. Moving forward, it only makes sense for the franchise to reduce his load as much as possible to preserve his body for the long run.
A solid, inexpensive option they could take a look at is Celtics big man Luke Kornet, who’s been a pretty serviceable part of their rotation this season behind Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Standing at 7’2”, th 28-year-old is a pretty imposing presence in the paint, touting great rebounding numbers and an eye-popping 70% field goal percentage, albeit on a low shot diet.
Kornet already profiles as a value acquisition for any team in free agency, and Philadelphia has every reason to shoerhorn itself in that discussion. He doesn’t necessarily have to be the 76ers’ prime solution to their backup center problem, but he would nevertheless be a tremendous niche addition,