The Philadelphia 76ers certainly made some very questionable moves this offseason. Topping that list is their rather arbitrary decision to bring back Kyle Lowry to the tune of another one-year deal after the former All-Star turned in his worst individual campaign ever. But not far behind from that one is the front office handing Eric Gordon another contract this summer.
Gordon, who missed a huge chunk of games last season due to injury, was only a negligible part of the roster. Aside from a red-hot stretch for a month, he was totally unplayable, as shown by him swiftly getting booted out of the starting unit due to his inability to do anything else on the court aside from his spotty three-point shooting.
That is precisely the reason why the team’s decision to bring him back for another go-round was puzzling. Approaching 37 years old, he should have been left in the cold in free agency, but alas, Daryl Morey and the front office found some incorporeal reason to welcome him back with open arms.
Topping make matters worse, Gordon’s recent revelation bodes pretty badly for the franchise, especially if the front office keeps its endearment to the veteran.
Eric Gordon’s ambitious plan could be pretty bad for the 76ers
In a recent interview, Gordon bared that his goal at this point in his career is to spend 20 seasons in the league — a rather daunting proposition for a player who clearly has very little left in the tank, if at all.
Now, why should 76ers fans fret about this? Well, Morey and his cohorts seem to have taken a liking to the idea of having well-entrenched veterans on the roster notwithstanding their actual feasibilities as players, so this could very well be an invitation for them to keep that trend up.
This goes without saying, but that is an absolute no-no. Gordon no longer has the speed he once had to be able to be a positive factor on both ends with his rim-driving and deep three-point shooting and switchy defense.
There is literally no reason for the 76ers to keep clinging onto the idea of Gordon still touting those shades of 2018. The 2025 version of him is no longer a viable rotation player.
Hopefully, the Philadelphia 76ers cut ties with Eric Gordon sooner than later. While it would be nice for the veteran to last 20 years in the NBA, the front office should let another team facilitate that ambitious plan of his.