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,
2. OG Anunoby could find the Philadelphia lights just as sterling as New York’s
New York is still alive and kicking in the playoffs, currently up 2-0 in their semifinals bout with Indiana. Naturally, while their ever-ambitious front office will shoot for the stars, one thing they’ll never do is to let their own valuable free agents slither away from their grasp.
One of their biggest flight risks is OG Anunoby, who is almost guaranteed to decline his player option and enter free agency. A key starter, the Knicks will exhaust all their options to bring him back, but no matter the posturing, money still rules. And should the 76ers miss out on their prime target in Paul George, spending a bulk of that supposedly reserve money on Anunoby should be high on their list of backup plans.
Anunoby, one the premiere defenders in the league, could be enticed into leaving the Big Apple with a godfather offer. He’ll be a terrific third fiddle in Philadelphia with his good tertiary scoring, and it must also be noted that his price tag would allow the 76ers to add more non-budget rotation pieces to fill out the roster, unlike George, who would basically sap nearly all of the front office’s financial ammo.
3. Bucks veteran Jae Crowder could be the 76ers’ desired bruiser
With Tobias Harris all set to depart Philadelphia and Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington facing uncertain fates of their own with the franchise, the 76ers have no choice but to load up on the forward position this summer, regardless if they snag a star to spearhead the position or not. Fortunately for them, the market will be rich with options for the front office
One name they should monitor as a low-cost, veteran addition is Jae Crowder, who enjoyed a mildly productive season with Milwaukee this year. He missed a lot of games ealr on due to injury, but eventually settled snugly into a reserve role for the Bucks as one of their resident 3-and-D guys.
While far from the player he is a few years ago, Crowder is still a well-respected veteran who can tenably function as a nightly rotation piece. He remains a hard-nosed one-on-one defender in spurts who can hit three-pointer at a league-average clip. Even more importantly, Crowder would inject some much-needed locker room presence and mental toughness to a team that routinely shown a lack of such.
4. The 76ers could take a flier on Tristan Thompson as a third-string big
Assuming Philadelphia hits on their high-end targets, the front office will have to be very creative in filling out the roster. Of course, one of their main weapons to this regard will be the veteran’s minimum, which they should try to maximize just like in the previous offseason when they managed to snag Kelly Oubre Jr. for well below his market value.
If the 76ers don’t feel secure with a younger commodity to fill in the backup center hole, one affordable option they could go to is Tristan Thompson, who managed to return to Cleveland this season after sitting idly in the previous campaign.
An NBA champion with the Cavaliers in 2016, Thompson would be a big locker room boost. But even better, he still has the makings of a viable plug-and-play guy. Even at age 33, Thompson remains a tenacious rebounder, especially on the offensive boards who can adeptly finish plays with his physicality.
5. Magic wing Gary Harris could find a second wind with the 76ers
Depending on what the 76ers do with De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and their bevy of outgoing backcourt cogs, the front office will have to be ready for the big possibility that none of those guys return. Obviously, the team needs to rework its guard rotation around Tyrese Maxey, and the free agency market has a rangy offering of available guards.
One relatively inexpensive player they should zoom in on is Magic combo guard Gary Harris, whose role with the team this season became an even more minor one. In his tenth season in the association, Harris turned in his second-lowest scoring output as he ultimately served as a defensive specialist for similarly defensive-minded Orlando.
However, there’s still good reason to believe that Harris can return to being a more well-rounded option. While far from his early Nuggets form where he became an efficient, mid-volume scorer, the 29-year-old is still an above-average three-point threat who probably needs a shot at a higher usage to be more effective. As a bench piece, he could be a solid signing for the 76ers.
6. Indiana’s Jalen Smith will be one of the best backup bigs available
The Pacers easily lived up to their moniker this season, outpacing nearly everyone and outscoring opponents into dominion for the most part as they marched into the playoffs. And while Tyrese Haliburton (and later, Pascal Siakam) was their evident driver, Indiana wouldn’t have succeeded this year if not for their league-leading bench.
One of the Pacers’ main forces in their second-unit attack has been Jalen Smith, who has turned in his best season yet as a professional. The 24-year-old averaged 10 points per outing in this campaign on nearly 60 percent shooting overall, which also includes a blistering 42.4 percent conversion rate from downtown.
Indiana would prefer to have him back, but they already have a glut of big men on the roster. Thus, the 76ers should be one of the teams knocking at his door, as they could very much use a floor-stretching big man who can finish plays around the rim. Even better, not only can he back up Embiid, but his play style and mobility also allows him to hypothetically play next to the superstar.
7. Heat hero Caleb Martin would be a perfect fit with the 76ers
Miami, thanks in large part to injuries and a tough first-round draw in Boston, failed to follow up its Finals appearance with a good showing this season. As a result, Pat Riley could pretty much go bolder this offseason after years of missing out on his blue-chip targets and letting Erik Spoelstra deal with a funky deck.
If so, one of the casualties of them going big this summer could be Caleb Martin, one of the Heat’s biggest heroes in their Finals run last season. He was still a pivotal part of the rotation this season as Miami’s sixth man and occasional starter, and he will enter free agency as one of the better, mid-cost options on the market.
Again, in anticipation of the exodus of their forwards, the Philadelphia 76ers should aggressively pursue Martin. The 28-year-old is basically a younger version of Batum sans the low usage and the heady quirks. Martin’s combination of tertiary scoring, three-point shooting, switchable defense, and good court awareness should be a seamless fit with the team.