Ranking the Sixers’ Flurry of Moves From Free Agency Weekend

Contributor - Ryan Straub

The last seven days have been nothing short of action-packed for the Sixers following last Wednesday’s NBA draft and the opening of free agency on Sunday. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has been extremely active within the landscape as he once again attempts to build a roster with the goal of getting past the second round (which the organization hasn’t done since I was born), and ultimately something higher: an NBA championship. With more still to come, here’s where I rank the decisions that Morey and his staff made this past week: 

Early Monday morning, Oubre agreed to return to the team in free agency on a two-year, $16.3 million deal with a player option in Year 2. It was expected when he first signed on a vet minimum last season that this was likely to be a one-year ordeal, but Oubre’s play exceeded the expectations of many this past season.

Averaging 15.4 points and grabbing 5.0 rebounds per game, he became a versatile and reliable wing player for Nick Nurse. He wasn’t great in the playoff series loss to the Knicks, but then again, everyone not named Embiid or Maxey fits into that category. Regardless, it’s nice to see some continuity in the roster for a player who has shown flashes of promise.

I definitely raised an eyebrow when I heard the news that the Sixers’ first move in free agency was to sign Eric Gordon from the Suns. I was even more surprised, in fact delighted, to learn that it was for one year on a vet minimum.  He played in 68 games last year for Phoenix, averaging 11 points per game on 37.8% shooting from deep.

A former Clipper and Rocket with ties to Daryl Morey, Gordon has made a name for himself as a solid role player in the league who will space the floor nicely and hold his own on the defensive end.

Almost a week removed from the draft, this pick has certainly grown on me, and with the moves that Morey made in free agency after the fact, it’s all beginning to make sense. His deadly spot-up shooting ability will serve him extremely well in his off-the-ball role with this squad.

A simple basketball analysis tells us there will be a significant amount of attention paid to Embiid, Maxey, and George (double teams, hedges, digs, etc), leaving this 41% three-point shooter open to let it fly from all over the court. And if you don’t want to help off of him? Fine. More space on the floor for the stars to use. It appears Morey knew all along he was getting George, making this pick a great one.

This was a move that many people were begging Morey to get done, as the never-ending search for a competent Center to back up Embiid continues. Remember Boban Marjanovic? Or Greg Monroe? I unfortunately do too.

Drummond was far and away the best one that we’ve seen, playing 49 games during a brief stint with the team in 2021-22. During this time he averaged 6.1 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field in 18.4 minutes per game. This past season in a bench role for Chicago, he averaged 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. This is a great addition to combat the non-Embiid minutes that always bite the Sixers in the rear come playoff time.

A plan that was set forward over a year ago for the Sixers to sign a max contract player this summer finally came to fruition. George, which was the main name that had been floating around, agreed to a four-year, $212 million maximum contract in the early hours of Monday morning.

An elite shooter and two-way playmaker, it’s been said for years that this is the type of player that needs to be paired with Embiid, and now Maxey. He’s shown a tendency in the past to be injury-prone and has had questionable playoff performances, but at his best, he’s an elite talent who will make any fan excited about this signing. Props to Morey for finally getting it done.

Harris agreed to a 2-year $52 million contract with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, ending his tenure with the team after a long five and a half years. It truly just never clicked for Harris in a Sixers uniform, much to the chagrin of the fanbase.

He’s not a bad player, but he’s also nowhere near what the Sixers made him, which was a max contract player. Oh well. You know the phrase “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”? Maybe think about this the other way. Smile because it’s over, cry because it happened. Here’s to many Crumbl Cookies in the future.

The Sixers, as expected, are taking no chances as they lock up their young All-Star to a five-year, $204 million maximum extension. Just because everyone knew they were going to do this doesn’t make it any less significant. Maxey has blossomed into one of the young stars in this league, taking a massive leap in year 4 alongside Embiid.

His 25.9 points per game was good for 11th in the league last season, and even more exciting was his brilliant performances in the postseason, averaging 29.8 points per game including two 30-point games and a 46-point explosion in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. Still just 23 years old, Tyrese Maxey has the potential to be a legitimate NBA star.

The "Process Era" for the Sixers has been a bit of a mess. They have tried so many running mates for Joel Embiid. First, it was Ben Simmons, and we know how that ended. Then it was James Harden, which went about as well as the Simmons era went. They have also had 3 coaches, 3 GMs, and multiple Teams. But one thing that has changed more than any of those things, has been Joel Embiid's backup.

He has played with over a dozen backups since he made his Sixers debut in the 2016-2017 season. From Nerlens Noel, all the way up to Paul Reed and Mo Bamba this season. They have tried big guys known for their defense. Smaller guys who could maybe score more. They have gone with veterans, and they have gone with young guys. The Sixers have tried so many different answers, and yet you can count on one hand how many of them have actually worked.

And while Paul Reed is playing okay this year, the Embiid-less minutes, and especially the games he is out, continue to be a massive issue for the Sixers. Mo Bamba can't even get on the floor unless Embiid is out. But even if those two have not played well enough, Reed is far from the worst backup center Embiid has played with. But who is?

Here are almost all of the backup centers the Sixers have tried. I didn't count Mike Scott or Ben Simmons. Because even if they played in the "Center" a few times, they were not actual centers. I am sure I missed a few guys who got a small handful of games here and there. But these are the Joel Embiid backups I could recall. All 20 of them.

Jordan was clearly over the hill by the time he landed in Philly. But what made his stint here even more frustrating was Doc River's insistence on using him. He was getting cooked every time he stepped onto the floor, but Doc kept throwing him out there.

Embiid took heat for his performance in the Raptors series in 2018. But you know what their real issue was? The -90 when he was off the floor. Greg Monroe got cooked on defense and offered nothing in terms of offense.

How many people remember Splitter being on the Sixers? He played 8 games here in Embiid's rookie season, and then never played in the NBA again. He still goes above Monroe and Jordan because not remembering him at all is better than my memory of Jordan and Monroe actively destroying the Sixers hopes of winning.

Cauley-Stein was here for only 2 games, for 6 total minutes, and he scored no points. Like Splitter, he never played another game in his career once the Sixers moved on. I am sensing a trend.

Milsap was thrown into the James Harden deal. But like several other guys we talked about, he struggled to get onto the floor. He did start one game, but he didn't make much of an impact, and wound up being mostly left out of the rotation altogether.

Can't get onto the floor, fails to make an impact when he does get on it. I feel like a need a keyboard shortcut to enter that exact phrase because I am writing it a lot.

Pelle was an interesting player. The athleticism was there. And he made some explosive plays. But those rare moments weren't enough to overcome his lack of offense and his poor instincts.

Like Pelle, there were things to like about Bassey. Those things just weren't abundant enough. His offensive game just was not developed enough to be a realistic option when he was here. To his credit, he is still sticking around with the Spurs. But even now the game isn't good enough to be a backup on a playoff team.

Okafor couldn't score outside of the paint, didn't play defense, and didn't rebound. So pretty much he had none of the qualities you want in a center. The Sixers held onto him for way too long until his value reach 0. They probably should have traded him after his productive rookie season. Or maybe the genius Sam Hinkie just shouldn't have drafted his 3rd center in 3 seasons.

We loved Boban. But it was also very clear he was not good enough. He was pretty much unplayable against any center who can move outside of the paint. And while watching him sunk without jumping, and his relationship with Tobias, were all fun, he was not a very good backup center except against very specific opponents.

O'Quinn wasn't great, and he wasn't bad.  But he was part of that ill advised Horford season, and didn't see the floor too much with Horford taking a lot of the backup center minutes. But he was fine, just nothing special. He did not have a negative impact on the team like many of these other players, but he didn't have much of a positive one either. The Sixers were the last team he ever played

Amir was actually solid when he first got here. In 2017-2018 he was a solid although unspectacular backup. But the next year was a bit of a mess. So he averages out to being the 10th best, or maybe the 11th worst. Whatever way you want to phrase it.

Sixers fans loved this guy. he had a few great games, then got traded, and some Sixers fans lost their mind. We got calls for another two years from fans complaining that he was traded. But look at the rest of his career, and you will see he is at best an adequate backup. But Sixers fans have been so starved for backup centers, they saw one guy have a few good games, and fell in love.

Another guy who couldn't get on the floor enough. They brought him in thinking he would at least bring a scoring threat, even if his defense was lacking. But he couldn't score enouhg, and his defense was lacking. But there was at least a semi-nice pick an roll game between him and Harden when he did play.

There is a lot that Paul Reed does well. He brings a ton of energy to the floor. And when you are just asking him to play 14 minutes behind Embiid, he gets the job done. But the problem is if you need to him to start in place of an injured Embiid. That is when some of his flaws have been exposed.

There was a ton to love about Holmes. He could make some incredible plays. The problem when he was here, was the simple plays. Too often he was out of position, or getting himself in trouble by trying to make one of those great plays. Still, his ability made him amongst the best backups Embiid ever had.

Noel could defend his position at a very high level. At least in terms of being a backup center. The offensive game was not good enough. But it would be nice to have a guy you can put in for Embiid, and at least know the defense wont fall off too much.

Horford time here was a disaster. That was not all his fault. The idea of putting him and Embiid on the floor together was flawed from the onset. But his effort and his play was also lacking in his time here. But as bad as it went, you cant deny Horford talent. And when he slid over to Center in place of Embiid he did a good job. It was just a poor fit and a bad roster that season.

There were times when having Howard as the backup was fantastic. There were times it was not. But when it came down to the playoffs, he was not playing very well. It seemed like the perfect fit at the time, and in some games it was. But he let them down in the Hawks series.

Andre Drummond was by far the bets backup Embiid has ever had. The key was he was too good to be a backup. But for whatever reason he was not getting much attention and free agency, and the Sixers were able to bring him in on the cheap. He had to be sent to Brooklyn in the James Harden trade, and Sixers fans have missed him ever since.