`A lot of changes' in store for 76ers in off-season
CAMDEN, N.J. Say goodbye to the 76ers.
No, not Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey is sticking around, too. Nick Nurse seems like a perfect longterm fit as coach.
But for the rest of the Sixers? It's time to pretty much wish them well, with just about the entire team — players such as Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry and Nic Batum — ending the season with an expired contract.
Team president Daryl Morey this summer has about US$65 million in salary cap space, a first-round draft pick, a max contract to offer to Maxey and plenty of questions to solve on how to finally, truly build an NBA championship contender around Embiid.
“We're not going to have continuity,” Morey said. “We'll have continuity with our stars and our head coach, but we're going to have a lot of changes this season.”
Nurse won a championship in Toronto with Pascal Siakam and was an assistant coach with the Raptors when DeMar DeRozan was on the team. Both players are free agents and could be a nice fit in Philly.
Embiid will be an old 30 next season and expecting the all-star centre to miss a significant chunk of playing time because of injuries is an unfortunate rite of the season for the Sixers. Embiid has never played more than 68 games in a season and was limited to only 39 this season in large part because of knee surgery. The 76ers finished 31-8 in the regular season with Embiid — about a 65-win pace — and a woeful 16-27 without him.
“I feel like I could have done a better job with the players so that we were in a better spot to win without him,” Morey said. “That said, we do spend 90 per cent of the time figuring out how to win with him.”
While the Sixers and their fans might wish Embiid would take a summer off to rest up, he is set to play for USA Basketball at the Paris Olympics. The 76ers won't stand in Embiid's way.
“It's a dream of his to represent the United States in the Olympics,” Morey said. “I think it's important to support the dreams of your best player.”