76ers unveil Horford & Co. as upgrades in chase for a title
Al Horford took a seat at one of the three tables needed to fit six players, an owner and a general manager and admired the Philadelphia skyline in the distance.
“This view gets me excited,” Horford said . “This view back there of the city.”
It’s the city he will call his basketball home for the next four years, one that hasn’t held a championship parade for the 76ers since 1983 and where the franchise went nearly 20 years without creating much of a stir until Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons arrived on the scene.
But to try to finally get over that title hump, the 76ers need more — they needed Horford.
Horford could be the difference for the Sixers this season, not just because he’s a four-time All-Star who can thrive as a low post defender and shoot the 3. It’s because Horford can spell Embiid, the notoriously injuryprone franchise player, at center. The theory goes, keep Embiid fresh and healthy in the regular season, and watch him carry the Sixers through a dominant postseason.
“We did fall off a cliff once Joel was off the court, especially defensively,” GM Elton Brand said.
Horford is the centerpiece of a flurry of offseason deals that could help the 76ers keep pace with Milwaukee, Boston and Brooklyn as top contenders in the East. Horford joined fellow newcomers Josh Richardson, Raul Neto and Kyle O’Quinn at the complex Friday, along with returning free agents James Ennis III and Tobias Harris.
Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick and TJ McConnell — all key cogs in the Sixers’ transformation from losers during “The Process” to championship contenders — left this summer. But perhaps the Sixers might not have to look outside the organization to find another threepoint shooter. Perhaps they can get the occasional 3 from Simmons. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft and wound up making his NBA debut in the 2017-18 season, earning Rookie of the Year honors. He was an All-Star for the first time last season and has averaged 16.4 points,
8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in two seasons.
He is also 0 for 17 on 3s. Simmons missed all 11 three-point attempts his rookie season and was 0 for 6 last season, a combination of an awkward shooting form and a hesitancy to keep shooting shots he can’t make.
Harris recently worked out with Simmons in Los Angeles and found him dedicated to improving his shot .
“Everybody was trying to figure out why I was guarding him at the three-point line, but it was really because he hit two of them,” Harris said. “When I dared him to shoot two of them, he hit two in a row. That’s why I was there. He’s made big improvements on his game. His jump shot is looking really good and he has the confidence to shoot.”
ELSEWHERE
Mavericks: Dallas officially
● re-signed Kristaps Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 All-Star selection who still hasn’t played a game for the Mavericks since being acquired from the New York Knicks. Porzingis, who turns 24 on Aug. 2, sat out all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February 2018.
Celtics:
● Police in Connecticut say the father of Boston rookie Tremont Waters was found dead in a motel room and the local medical examiner’s office has ruled the death a suicide. West Haven police say 49-year-old Ed Waters was discovered at a Super 8 Motel just after noon Thursday.
League office: Longtime
● NBA referee Jason Phillips will be the new operations principal for the league’s replay center. Phillips, an on-court referee for 19 seasons who has worked more than 1,100 games, will be responsible for day-today operations of the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, creating training videos and offering rule interpretations for teams and media.