The Philadelphia 76ers underwent a major facelift during the offseason. The front office capitalized on the fact that the franchise housed a ton of free agents to usher in a ot of new faces and in turn, bolster the team’s prospects as a collective this season.
While injuries have slowed the 76ers down in the early going, penciling them in as mere pretenders would be a perilous take. At full strength, this is still one of the most talented bunches in the association, bested only by the defending champions and the likes of Oklahoma City out West.
The fear of omission, however, does not simply go away, especially for a team that shedded away nearly everyone who entered free agency. One player in particular is off to a blazing start, and the team may have been hugely mistaken.
The 76ers may have jumped the gun too early with Buddy Hield
Buddy Hield has shot the lights out to begin the season for Golden State, which seemed to have found new life at shooting guard following the departure of one of their staples in Klay Thompson. But before that, the veteran sharpshooter was on board in Philadelphia from last season, though the 76ers let him go in free agency.
The 76ers saw the worst version of Hield, especially in the playoffs, which was most likely the nail in the coffin on his cameo-sized stint with the team. Having said that, Hield’s anticipated price tag never soared to its expected heights, and the Warriors instead got him for a bargain bin.
At just around $9 million annually, Hield is an early candidate for bargain of the year, if that award exists. He has quickly proved to be a seamless fit within the Warriors’ motion offense heavy on three-point shooting, his bread and butter.
Did the 76ers jump the gun too early with Hield? Maybe, but perhaps only in view of his value as compared to the contract he got. It’s still way too early to pronounce the team as having made a huge mistake letting him go seeing how bad he looked donning the club’s colors, but an argument could also be made that he was simply not put in a position to succeed last season fit-wise.