A few days before the start of the regular season, DNA of Sports finishes its traditional presentation, franchise by franchise, of the upcoming NBA season. Like every year, this takes the form of a countdown, from the teams expected at the bottom of the ranking to our favorite for the champion title. Today, place at the Sixers who livened up the summer with the Harden soap opera and the dismissal of Doc Rivers, replaced by Nick Nurse.
Is Joel Embiid cursed? Almost 30 years old, the 2023 MVP has still not reached the conference semi-finals. On the other side of the United States, Nikola Jokic has just celebrated his first title… The difference between the two? Leadership and the ability to unite for the Serbian, physical fragility for the Cameroonian, but also stability at the heart of their franchise. In Denver, we built, year after year, a reigning champion around Mike Malone, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. In Philadelphia, Embiid will meet his third coach, and the crises follow one another. After Ben Simmons in 2021, today it is James Harden who is asking to pack his bags. And he is determined, to the point of insulting his president Daryl Morey. The same one that brought him to Houston, then to Philadelphia.
James Harden, an unmanageable situation?
There is nothing worse than starting the season with a player who has his mind elsewhere. Especially when he’s the best passer in the NBA, and he’s only been there for 18 months. Worse, the Sixers cannot find a base for him, and they will perhaps drag him around like a ball and chain.
For this presentation, we are starting with the idea that James Harden’s situation is too unmanageable, and that he will no longer play for the Sixers. Either because he is transferred or because he is left on the sidelines.
At the end of the contract, James Harden announced that the divorce was complete and that the two parties were irreconcilable. Nick Nurse can’t start the season with a player, no matter how strong, just waiting to go. Even if it’s a matter of weeks or months, handing over the keys to the franchise to James Harden would do him a favor in staying in shape, but it would be complicated for his teammates, and even the fans, to manage. What will be the reception at the Wells Fargo Center if James Harden starts at the start of the season?
An always rich workforce
For the rest, the squad is not bad, and the reinforcements are interesting with the experience of Danny Green, who was champion with Nick Nurse at the Raptors, the youth of Mo Bamba and the offensive qualities of Kelly Oubre Jr, who remains on his best career season. And then, even if James Harden wants to leave, the “Houston Connection” has been strengthened with the arrival of Pat Beverley, who already has some affinities with PJ Tucker and Danuel House.
The “second unit” with De’Anthony Melton, Kelly Oubre Jr, Mo Bamba, Paul Reed and Furkan Korkmaz is holding up, and Nick Nurse can rely on a core of 9-10 almost interchangeable players with outside skill. , interior power and good defenders. It’s up to him to rotate his squad, and avoid pulling too hard on his stars as he did last year in Toronto.
SUMMER MOVEMENTS
Arrivals: Nick Nurse (coach), Patrick Beverley (Bulls), Mo Bamba (Lakers), Danny Green (Cavaliers), Kelly Oubre Jr. (Hornets)
Departures: Shake Milton (Wolves), George Niang (Cavaliers), Jalen McDaniels (Raptors)
PLAYER TO FOLLOW: TYRESE MAXEY
If the Sixers aren’t too hung up on James Harden, it’s because they already have his replacement. Tyrese Maxey doesn’t necessarily have the talent of the former MVP, but he proved last year that he could fill in, and that he was making good progress.
This season will be decisive for him in two respects. First, he will be a protected free agent in a year, and if he progresses further, he can get a huge contract. The Sixers have their hands on his future, and Tyrese Maxey has the potential of a future All-Star at a key position: point guard.
Precisely, he will have to prove that he can be a boss in attack, with organization and the ability to create a real shock duo with Joel Embiid. No doubt he will have to score less, and settle the game more. His relationship with the reigning MVP is undoubtedly the key to the Sixers’ season.
Average age: 28.6 years
Payroll: $197.7 million (4th)
THE IDEAL SCENARIO
The ideal scenario is simple: James Harden and Daryl Morey call off their divorce, and everything returns to normal in Philadelphia. Or, the Sixers manage to get rid of him quickly, and they get a very good point guard or guard back. A Malcolm Brogdon profile would be ideal for this group, but it seems complicated. Whatever happens, the ideal scenario for the Sixers is to put an end to this endless soap opera that began in July. Other teams have already experienced equivalent situations, the Sixers first with Ben Simmons, and it is not healthy for anyone, and it turns into a failure for everyone.
For the rest, the Sixers have the squad to go to the playoffs with or without James Harden. On the condition that Joel Embiid has the same campaign as last year and that Tyrese Maxey establishes himself as a potential Most Improved Player. The arrival of Kelly Oubre Jr. will do good for the bench, with a player who brings points but also speed and madness. Philly needs it after years of humming along.
At the back, like De’Anthony Melton, Pat Beverley remains a solid defender, and he can fill in at lead alongside Tyrese Maxey. The Nick Nurse method works, and Tobias Harris has more responsibility in attack. Which even allows Joel Embiid to attack the playoffs in good shape. And to shine there.
THE WORST SCENARIO
Again for the Sixers who are trapped by James Harden’s desire to leave, and they are waiting for February to sell him off. It’s half a season wasted, and Nick Nurse is having a hard time putting his ideas into place.
In an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference with the Celtics and Bucks close to 65 victories, the Sixers are quickly left behind, and Joel Embiid seems demotivated. We even talk about desires to leave, and Daryl Morey must manage a new crisis, this time with the central piece of his project. The 2023/24 Sixers look like the 2020/21 Rockets with superstars jumping ship, and Nick Nurse finds himself embroiled in a transition phase with Tyrese Maxey as the leader.
Another lost season for the Sixers who have been waiting for a title for 40 years, and who are entering the next offseason with 12 players at the end of their contract! The future looks complicated and unstable…
