P.J. Tucker can’t make Joel Embiid and James Harden man up for the Sixers

The Sixers officially signed P.J. Tucker on Wednesday. Three years, $33.2 million.

Big deal. P.J. Tucker is not your savior.

P.J. Tucker is a 37-year-old, overpaid role player of diminishing talents and advancing age. Former Rockets GM and current Sixers president Daryl Morey overvalues him, as he overvalued James Harden, another former Rocket, but that’s a different discussion.

Tucker’s a dependable player and a grown man, but any supposition that his toughness will somehow, by osmosis, make other Sixers tougher is ridiculous. Men either get tougher or they don’t.

If Harden and Joel Embiid are going to toughen up, as Tobias Harris (of all people) told us they must, it won’t happen because P.J. Tucker and his liniment-scented uniform drives them to plumb depths of resolve they haven’t yet reached. If the Beard and the Process finally start playing like grown men, then it will be because they’ve grown up all by themselves.

Tucker’s toughness — as well as his defense, his rebounding, his effort, and his towering basketball IQ — helped the Milwaukee Bucks win a title in 2021. It helped the Miami Heat beat the Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. That makes for a nice resume.

But you know who didn’t sign 37-year-old P.J. Tucker for the next three years at $33 million? The Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.

In fact, here’s what Heat president Pat Riley, a tough guy who always has tough guys on his team, said about Tucker’s possible return:

“I’d love to have Tuck back next year. He’s part of our core. We’ll see what happens. There’s not enough like him in the league …“ and there, Riley paused, considering what he’d said, then continued: “No, there are. There’s a lot of guys like him in the league.”

I love P.J. Tucker’s game, and his story. In 2006, he was a second-round pick out of Texas by the Raptors, who cut him as a rookie. He took a six-year classical tour of professional basketball: Italy, Greece, Germany, Ukraine, Israel twice, and, almost, Russia (whew). He won and he starred overseas, and then, in 2012, he latched on with Phoenix. But Tucker, in his prime, could play for anyone, anywhere. Even at 37, he might still be near his prime, and he’s certainly serviceable.

» READ MORE: James Harden took $15 million pay cut for next season to help the Sixers’ free agency efforts

“He’s so unselfish, you know, as a player, always taking on the biggest challenges,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “Defensively, he’ll do all the little things, the dirty work, the tough things, and never complain about it. He never complains or talks about his shots. He’s just completely selfless, an absolute throwback player. That’s why he’s beloved by the staff and everybody in the locker room.”

He sounds a lot like the guy he replaced, injured and traded swingman Danny Green: smart, selfless, versatile. So no, this isn’t a disaster signing. But it is a foolish signing, considering expectations. This is money spent for something Tucker cannot deliver.

He can’t make Embiid and Harden play harder.

You think that suddenly Harden and Embiid will stop complaining about foul calls they didn’t get and instead sprint back on defense rather than lag behind the play? Because that’s the effort that’s missing.

You think P.J. Tucker is going to keep Harden away from nightclubs so he’s fresher come May and June? You think P.J. Tucker’s going to make Embiid do hack squats and knee raises so his legs and core will let him post up against guys like … P.J. Tucker? Because that’s the toughness that’s missing.

No, if the Sixers get better — and I think they will be better — they’ll be better independent of P.J. Tucker.

They’ll be better because Embiid got better each of the last two years, and less fat. They’ll be better because Harden will become a more polished point guard, and less fat. They’ll be better because Tyrese Maxey should become be an All Star.

They’ll be better if Harris remains what he has become: the team’s leader, spokesman, and conscience.

» READ MORE: Maximum Tobias Harris is the silver lining in the Sixers’ playoff run without Joel Embiid

They won’t be better because Tucker magically makes them tougher. They’ve been soft ever since Embiid started playing in 2016, out of shape and distracted by his pursuit of fame over functionality. What’s more, they’ve tried to address this problem in the past.

In the 2018-19 season, the Sixers traded for Jimmy Butler, who eats steel and spits out nails. That season ended with Embiid’s getting demolished by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley for being soft, and with Embiid’s weeping in his girlfriend’s arms in the tunnel after a Game 7 loss in Toronto.

The next season, the Sixers added Al Horford, a man with the temperament and constitution of a Methodist powerlifter. His 12 years of toughness and leadership convinced the Sixers he was worth $109 million to both produce on the court and to lead Embiid — whom, not coincidentally, he’d owned, and still owns, on the court. That season, Horford averaged 11.9 points and 6.8 rebounds, his worst output in a decade, and Embiid got no tougher.

Tucker has never averaged as many as 11.9 points or 6.8 rebounds in a season. He averaged just 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds over the last five regular seasons. His postseason numbers are no better: He averaged 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in his last three playoff runs. He is what he is.

If you want to argue the value of acquiring P.J. Tucker so you don’t have to face P.J. Tucker, we’ll refer you to the Horford experience. Tucker effectively guarded both Embiid and Harden in the Heat’s six-game win in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but that’s no reason to pad Tucker’s retirement fund.

Besides, Tucker was the same player, only better, in Houston, for four-plus seasons: tough, smart, available.

Remember who the No. 1 player was on those Rockets teams?

A softee named James Harden.