What moves will the Philadelphia 76ers make in the 2024 offseason? The answer to that question carries much more weight than with other teams.
Armed with a ton of cap space and plenty of future first-round picks to trade, the Sixers can reshape their roster into a much more dangerous unit around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The open market could provide them with upgrades to their supporting cast, which will be sorely needed as Eastern Conference teams look to reload and challenge the Boston Celtics. The Sixers have their own pool of free agents and should bring some of them back as well.
Clearly, the biggest move the 76ers can make is to land a star. But they’ll also need to add more talent, taking advantage of their salary cap exemptions and potentially their abundance of available cap space if they land a star. As much as landing Paul George would give the Sixers a three-headed monster, going seven or eight players deep with reliable, versatile options could be a recipe for great success.
Here are five options for the 76ers in 2024 free agency.
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The ideal type of guard alongside Maxey is someone who can set him up for shots on offense and handle the key defensive assignment. Dunn, a former fifth overall pick who played for the Utah Jazz last season, checks those boxes and will likely find a new home when Keyonte George takes over Utah’s starting point guard job and rookie Isaiah Collier also joins the fold.
Dunn is great on defense. He gets into his opponents’ space and doesn’t give up on moves when he falls behind. His combination of quick hands and a 6-foot wingspan make it difficult for opponents to dribble around him or get the ball in front. Point-of-attack defense is something that Philly desperately needs and that Dunn could provide at a high level. His 2.6 steals per 100 possessions ranked in the top 10 of the NBA leaderboard last season.
One of Dunn’s biggest question marks, his three-point shooting, has come up a lot over the past two seasons with the Jazz. Things should only get better in Philly, though expecting him to become a legitimate threat from long range is a stretch. His shooting around the rim is also promising and has improved over the last few seasons. He scored really efficiently on a floater from the deeper half of the paint.
Another advantage Dunn has is his playmaking ability. He reads the floor well and can drive into the paint to draw defenders before handing it off to whoever gets open. Opposing teams could challenge Dunn to score one-on-one, which he is not as adept at. He has yet to prove his scoring can thrive in high-intensity environments. If the defense can get far away from him in critical time, his effectiveness decreases.
However, there is reason to believe Dunn is good enough as a threat (especially when playing against two All-NBA level stars) not to be played off the floor. That would be great for the Sixers, especially if they need to generate stops.
Naji Marshall
The New Orleans Pelicans’ desire to trade Brandon Ingram suggests they want to keep their other wings intact, which would mean extending Trey Murphy III and re-signing Marshall, which could be a bigger goal of theirs after they sent Dyson Daniels in a trade to land Dejounte Murray. But perhaps a better chance to compete for a championship could keep Marshall away from NOLA.
Marshall, who stands about 6-foot-1 with a wingspan of just over 8 feet, would slide in nicely as a 3-and-D option. His 3-point shooting has been somewhat unproven at the NBA level thus far, having only just topped the league average from 3 in his first season. If the 76ers see that as a legitimate, sustainable improvement, they should back him up in free agency. Even if they aren’t sure, Marshall has other skills that make him worth throwing around.
While Marshall has shot poorly at the rim throughout his career, he does a decent job of drawing shooting fouls and is an efficient mid-range scorer. Most of his midrange attempts come from within 15 feet, meaning he rarely settles for long twos and instead attacks downhill.
Defensively, Marshall is all in. His on-ball defense is nasty and tenacious, just what any team would want from its wingers. Anyone who wants to get anywhere near him will have to work overtime. He’s even taken a few pages from the book of his inbounds-stealing extraordinaire teammate, Jose Alvarado.
There will be a slate of 3-and-D wings available in free agency, though each player’s strengths as a shooter or defender vary. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Klay Thompson, Royce O’Neale and Gary Trent Jr. are among the many other possibilities. Marshall can play small forward, but it would be best for the Sixers to consider him as a two-guard alongside Maxey, where his height and length advantages can be better utilized.
Simone Fontecchio
Would the Detroit Pistons facilitate a sign-and-trade involving Fontecchio, a restricted free agent, after trading him last offseason — or perhaps even let him go? It sounds crazy, but it might not be entirely impossible. They just drafted another wing in Ron Holland and traded away Quentin Grimes, another midseason acquisition, for a worse veteran and a pair of second-rounders.
If the 76ers can find a way to lure the Italian forward away from Detroit, they could secure one of their two starting forward positions. The 6-foot-8 Fontecchio is a great three-point shooter, firing off shots with his high release point and quick, smooth mechanics that allow him to dribble comfortably. He’s almost perfect as a spot-up specialist who can make a defense pay for pushing too hard. Last season, he shot 40.1 percent from downtown on 5.1 attempts per game.
Defensively, Fontecchio does his best, but he probably won’t be the crown jewel of any team’s defense. The Sixers would need to find another wing to be their primary defender for opposing defenses, or help him become more adept at holding down his assignment in the half-court. But his size would give him a chance to be a decent team defender.
Fontecchio is comfortable putting the ball on the ground, but is not someone who will consistently create his own advantages. The good thing about Fontecchio is that he hits the shots a team would want from its role players: threes or shots into the paint. He doesn’t waste much time trying to get out of the middies, instead opting to clear the floor for the lead ballhandlers. Fontecchio may not be as good a big shooter as Cam Johnson, but he can provide similar value at a lower price.
Again, the Pistons letting Fontecchio walk doesn’t seem very likely. But given how well he would fit with the 76ers, they should kick the tires.
Trendon Watford
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Less under-the-radar signings could be just as good as Watford, who spent last season with the Brooklyn Nets and is now a restricted free agent. The 6-foot-8 wing with a 7-foot-2 wingspan was one of just eight qualified players last season with per-100 possession averages of 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block with a true shooting percentage above 60 percent. The rest are all established or emerging stars.
The stats that group Watford with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis and more are very specific, but show that he is a versatile wing who adds value at both ends of the pitch. He will have to show that he can play that well on a larger sample size before he is asked to be the starter. For now, he could be an X-factor off the bench. If the Nets aren’t that keen on keeping him, the 76ers should pursue him hard.
Watford can handle the ball and has a good sense of where to go. He’s a heads-up passer who makes quick decisions and can make quick passes with one hand. Nico Batum showed last season how valuable a tall, quick-thinking passer can be when defenses are dealing with scoring monsters like Embiid and Maxey. Watford isn’t as smart as Batum, but he could fill that void if the Frenchman doesn’t return. Even if he does, it would be great to have two high-IQ wings.
In each of the last two seasons, Watford shot over 39 percent from beyond the arc, despite shooting a very low volume of deep shots. His corner percentages in both seasons were under 32, but his three-pointers above the break were successful more than 40 percent of the time, which is one of the best distributions at his position in the entire league. His free throw percentage is good enough (75.6 percent in his three NBA seasons) to suggest his shooting quality is legitimate.
Watford thrives on defensive play off the ball and has been working on making strides as an on-ball stopper. He won’t be 24 until November. As far as under-the-radar moves go, Watford could be a steal for the 76ers.
The Sixers could use another veteran backup big man in Paul Reed and someone who can play alongside Embiid and give Philly a size advantage. A familiar face could offer these options on a very cheap contract.
Saric, one of the most beloved Process Sixers ever, spent last season with the Golden State Warriors. The Homie isn’t afraid to make passes in tight windows and is adept at keeping the ball moving, which should really benefit the Sixers. He’s also coming off one of the best shooting seasons of his career, taking half of his field goals from beyond the arc and converting 37.6 percent of those looks.
Saric’s struggles on defense will only get worse as he gets older, though the Sixers could ease those concerns. The Warriors used him a lot as a center, where his lack of athleticism was seriously exposed. He could play well against Reed or rookie Adem Bona, allowing the more mobile centers to provide size and deterrence on the edge while taking advantage of the space and passing he provides. It’s difficult to hide Saric in defence, but making sure he always has big, agile players next to him can help him stay on the ground.
The 76ers need to improve as a rebuilding team and find more ways to get around Embiid. One of his former teammates, who he loved playing with, can fill that need while adding more shooting and playmaking, two skills teams can never have enough of.
