If the Philadelphia 76ers re-sign their key free agents this summer, who should they target to round out their supporting cast?
The Philadelphia 76ers have a monumental summer ahead of them.
Three-fifths of their starting lineup — Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick — are all set to become unrestricted free agents come June 30. The same goes for virtually their entire bench, including Mike Scott, James Ennis, Boban Marjanovic, TJ McConnell and Greg Monroe.
If the Sixers “run it back” by re-signing Butler, Harris and Redick, they’ll be far above the salary cap, leaving them with only the mid-level exception to add outside talent. Depending on how much they spent to retain Butler, Harris and Redick — along with whether they re-sign any of their key bench pieces — they’ll either have the non-taxpayer MLE ($9.25 million) or the taxpayer MLE ($5.7 million).
Here, let’s assume they somehow finagle their way into the non-taxpayer MLE, whether it’s by convincing Harris and/or Butler to take slightly less than the max or securing Redick on a multiyear deal with a lower-than-expected annual average value. They’ll likely attempt to add either a backup center who won’t get played off the floor in the playoffs, a point-of-attack defender or more wing depth.
The Sixers’ starting five will be largely set in stone if they re-sign Butler, Harris and Redick, but they badly need to bolster their bench. The following players could help give them a boost in the second unit and fuel them to a deep playoff run in 2019-20.