This team has fallen to 6th place in the Eastern Conference, largely due to the fact that they are 7-14* on the road.
For context, only eight other teams in the entire NBA have a worse road record.
A lot of fans seem to want this starting 5 broken up, but there’s too much talent and potential to move on to an alternative. For all the criticism Brett Brown receives – rightfully so for the most part – at the end of the day, he can’t really control an 18% (6/33) effort beyond the arc.
Considering what Brett Brown has to work with now that Joel Embiid continues to be out indefinitely, Elton Brand’s solution to solving the Sixers’ current woes couldn’t be any clearer and necessary: acquire serviceable, complementary bench pieces.
To say the Sixers have a weak bench is an understatement.
Matisse Thybulle has been the only player the team can count on to be a difference-maker on a consistent basis.
However, it’s no secret his identity is first and foremost a suffocating, perimeter defender. This Sixers’ bench ranks 28th in the league as it relates to scoring, at just under 29 points per game. After having to bear with this 6th place squad, Sixers twitter has continued to circulate two common names, Alec Burks and Davis Bertans.
Coming from a knowledgeable faction of the fanbase, both make sense and fill dire needs. The former has been a very productive scorer (15.8 PPG) in his age 28 seasons while only carrying a cap hit of $1.6 million, per Spotrac. As a stretch-big, the latter offers quite the appealing 15.4 PPG/43.6 3P% skillset and is on the books for an extremely reasonable $7 million.
The question remains what exactly Elton Brand would have to include in a deal for impact players of this caliber.
Regardless of what potential package of complementary pieces Elton Brand might pursue, every asset should be on the table with the exception of the starting 5 and Matisse Thybulle. Clearly, at 6th place, this current roster has failed to deliver how Brand envisioned, but they’re just not as far from righting this season’s ship as many want to believe.
For all the turbulence this team has been experiencing they’re still only 5 games back of the 2 seed in the East (the Boston Celtics). However, this an extremely urgent juncture, halfway through the season, in which Elton Brand must start making moves.
The Sixers have a relatively easy 2nd half of the season on paper, and it’s important to add some new faces ASAP so that this team can start generating some momentum.
Featured Image: Bill Streicher/USA Sports *Exact records and statistics may have changed from the publishing of this piece
