The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to make a big move earlier this season when James Harden was at the table and they were among the favorites to sign him. Most of the reports actually had them as favorites, but that didn’t happen, perhaps because Houston owner Tilman Fertitta refused to do business with former Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who now runs the store on Philadelphia.
Either way, the Sixers held on to Ben Simmons, who is probably having the best season of his career. Alongside Joel Embiid, an MVP at the front, the Sixers have two of the league’s best defenders and, perhaps with one more addition, a legitimate title shot.
Up to that point, Morey, who has long been one of the NBA’s most aggressive GMs, is trying to make “big moves” ahead of the negotiation deadline, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
The Sixers, however, could make a major acquisition of their own. League sources say that Philadelphia, which fell short in its bid for Harden, is still looking for big moves to increase its championship chances. The commercial market has yet to take shape in the coming weeks, so the realistic goals are not clear. But one name to be monitored is the Raptors’ guard, Kyle Lowry, a 34-year-old Philadelphia native in the final season of his contract. A veteran perimeter shot maker is the only piece the Sixers really lack, and not many other players at the Lowry level are theoretically available.
Lowry would obviously be an unbelievable addition for the Sixers, who, to O’Connor’s point, still lack a reliable perimeter shot maker. Simmons cannot shoot. Danny Green is not a creator of any kind. Seth Curry is not the main one. Tobias Harris is a hard-worker, but nobody’s master.
The problem is that the Raptors are arriving lately and can see themselves as if they are one step away from fighting for another trip to the finals. They have won seven of their last 10 games and are only four games behind Philly, and Kyle Lowry is still amazing. He ranks 9th on ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus and, alongside Fred VanVleet, remains the lifeblood of a Toronto organization that is not interested in reconstruction.
Outside of Lowry, some names to be monitored are Lonzo Ball, Evan Fournier and George Hill. JJ Redick is not a creator, but Philly only makes 10.3 3 points per game, which is ranked 28th in the league. It is very difficult to win in the playoffs by losing the 3-point battle, and although Redick started out struggling this season, he is shooting just under 49 percent with 3.5 points per night in 11 games in February.
As O’Connor pointed out, the commercial market remains uncertain with the extended March 25 deadline still a month from now, but we know that a thousand calls are going on as we speak and Morey is handling many of them. He hadn’t been working in Philadelphia for more than a week before negotiating with Danny Green, and two weeks before negotiating with Seth Curry, addressing Philly’s complete lack of shot in the blink of an eye. They could still use more of it, in addition to an ace, and if there is someone who fills one or both holes, Morey will not hesitate to pull the trigger.
The Sixers were at the top of the Eastern Conference for most of the season, but they dropped a little at the end, losing four of their last six, as the Brooklyn Nets were halfway through first place, entering Tuesday.