How Will Elton Brand Heal a Broken Sixers’ Roster for Doc Rivers?
Now that Doc Rivers has officially been signed to a 5-year deal to coach the Philadelphia 76ers, the focus moves to the roster changes needed to make a contender out of this team.
Who Should Remain?
At this point, it should be very clear that the Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons experiment is far from over. Doc Rivers would not have agreed so quickly to coach this team if he didn’t believe that these two can fit together on a title team. With that out of the way, the rest of the roster is obviously filled with some question marks.
Looking back at Tobias Harris pre-Philadelphia, he was having the best stretch of his career in Los Angeles under Rivers. Before the trade in 2019, Harris was averaging 20.9 points per game while shooting 43% from three. While trading Tobias is absolutely not off the table, it would appear more likely that we see him on the roster to begin next season and hope that Doc can get the best out of him again.
Other than those three, it would be irresponsible of the front office to make anyone else on the roster untouchable this off-season. Yes, even Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton.
Who Needs to Go?
Photo: Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
It goes without saying, getting Al Horford out of town could be near the top of the priority list this off-season. Even with Rivers at the helm, no coach will be able to change the fact that having Horford on the floor with either Embiid or Simmons significantly limits each of their abilities. No matter what the return for Horford, moving on from him will almost certainly be addition by subtraction.
This may be a little bit of a hot take, but it might be best for Josh Richardson to go this off-season. Now don’t get me wrong, Josh is a valuable asset to any team, but he offers a skill-set that is best suited elsewhere. The main goal for this front office should be to provide as much shooting and playmaking for Embiid and Simmons as possible. Richardson is a very good defender, but his shooting and playmaking both leave a lot to be desired.
His contract situation is also something to keep an eye on. He’s signed for two more years before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Knowing that they will not have the cap space to bring him back beyond 2022, this may be as good a time as ever to get some value back for him.
What Additions Need to Be Made?
Shooting and playmaking. Simple as that. Any players added to this roster must either have the ability to distribute the ball and run an offense or hit shots consistently. We’ve seen several names already rumored to the team such as Buddy Hield, Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams, Chris Paul, the list goes on and on. Any of these players would be a welcome addition and easily make the team better. However, the Sixers don’t have much to offer in trades for guys like this and that could prove to be an issue in terms of reshaping the roster.
After seeing the Miami Heat have success with a roster built around late draft picks and undrafted diamond in the rough type guys, this team needs to get creative in how they find contributors. Second-round draft selections may be immensely important this year, especially if the 21st overall pick has to be dealt to get rid of the Horford contract.
Overall, it’s a tough task for the front office, but they need to find nontraditional ways to add shooting and playmaking to the roster if they want to put Doc Rivers in a position to succeed year one in Philadelphia.
Featured Image: Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
