The Philadelphia 76ers entered the offseason with money to spend, and they committed to trying to prevent the Boston Celtics from becoming a 2020s dynasty.
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey is notorious for making splash moves, and he reportedly did that Monday morning with two huge agreements. It started with a four-year, $212 million agreed to deal with Paul George, and the Sixers followed that up with a five-year, $204 million maximum contract extension agreed to with Tyrese Maxey, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Those deals came after Philly reportedly agreed to deals to bring Kelly Oubre back and to bring in Andre Drummond.
The reported agreements cement a “Big Three” of George, Maxey and Joel Embiid to compete against the Celtics. But how far can this team go?
Well, the biggest issue the 76ers will deal with is health. George dealt with multiple injuries throughout his five-year Los Angeles Clippers tenure, and Embiid’s knee appears to be a long-term issue for his NBA career. A healthy Philadelphia team certainly could give Boston a scare, but that’s a big if.
Boston certainly will face health issues, too. Kristaps Porzingis’ offseason surgery will force him to miss the start of the season, and the team’s timeline hints at a December return at the earliest. Al Horford continues to inch closer to 40 years old, which likely is why the C’s agreed to deals with Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta to bolster their center depth, which could help in guarding Embiid.
Philly’s moves had oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook move up the Sixers to +850 to win the title and 4-1 to win the Eastern Conference. Boston is an overwhelming favorite to dominate the East again, and the 76ers’ moves established them as the race leader for the No. 2 seed in the conference.
The New York Knicks also reportedly made a huge splash trade when they acquired Mikal Bridges last week. The Milwaukee Bucks will need to bolster their depth as well. Boston has limited options in free agency other than to re-sign their core players, which reportedly is Brad Stevens’ priority. But the point is other teams around the Celtics will be making the headline moves while depth will be the focus for the C’s.
However, the 76ers have not made it past the second round in Embiid’s tenure with the team. Philadelphia also notoriously has a poor record against the Celtics in the postseason. Morey hopes George and Maxey’s continued development can be the X-factors to push his team ahead of Boston. But that remains to be seen if both sides are at full strength.
