The Sixers’ plan begins to reveal itself: Former Rockets boost rotation, Matisse Thybulle on way out, no shot at KD
Now that Harden is giving the Sixers more flexibility to build their roster, here's a look at some options as free agency looms.
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If you are Nene’s agent, you at least have to place a call, don’t you?
Daryl Morey stuck to what he knows on the first day of free agency, agreeing to terms with former Rockets veterans P.J. Tucker and Danuel House and current (now former) Rocket Trevelin Queen as the Sixers started laying the groundwork for a far more sensible rotation than the one they carried into playoffs this season.
A few thoughts after a busy day for the Sixers:
I like the House signing a lot. He shot 38% from three-point range during his two years with Harden in Houston and showed some nice athleticism. Can get to the hole, has length, and has consistently contributed off the bench in a playoff rotation, including 18 minutes a night for the Jazz last season. The Sixers have agreed to sign him for the full Biannual Exception, and he’s the exact kind of player you would have pegged for that slot. He would have helped against the Heat.
» READ MORE: P.J. Tucker agrees to join Sixers on a 3-year, $33.2 million deal, reunites with James Harden and Daryl Morey
Matisse Thybulle is on his way out. Unless De’Anthony Melton is dealt in a trade for a wing like Eric Gordon, the Sixers have two players in House and Melton who would have been ahead of him in the rotation against Miami. The only question is how good of a return the Sixers can get for Thybulle.
Kevin Durant is about to shake up the Eastern Conference. The only question is the amplitude on the Richter Scale. Would the Nets trade Durant within the Eastern Conference and bequeath their SuperTeam dreams to a conference rival like the Heat? Or is Durant destined to land out West in Phoenix, another of his preferred destinations?
At this point, the Nets have little choice but to take the best available offer. When Brooklyn traded the rights to four consecutive first-round picks between 2024-27 to Houston in exchange for James Harden, it was valuing those picks as if it would be a perennial Finals contender through at least 2026, the final year of Durant’s contract. In other words, they expected to be drafting in the bottom third of the first round. Two of those four picks took the form of swap rights, meaning the Nets and Rockets would exchange picks based on whose was better. Swapping away a pick in the 20′s doesn’t cost a team much in the way of value. Swapping away a pick in the Top 10, though? That hurts.
» READ MORE: Daryl Morey continues to turn to familiar faces while retooling the Sixers
The Sixers have no shot at Durant. You’d have to expect Morey to at least place a phone call and let it be known that he could find a spot for Durant. But that seems like a long shot, even if the Nets view Tyrese Maxey as a potential superstar and Tobias Harris as a viable piece. Nothing that we’ve seen over the last five to 10 years suggests that a player like Durant would consider a place like Philadelphia, particularly given the way his partnership with James Harden ended in Brooklyn. That being said, there will be a lot of money and a lot of talent and, potentially, a lot of teams in play as the Nets look for a suitable return for Durant. So the Sixers could get involved in some leg of the transaction. Durant would make a lot of sense in Boston, which could offer Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams, a duo that would trump Miami’s best offer. But this is the NBA, and if Durant doesn’t want to play in Boston, it doesn’t really matter what Boston can offer. Otherwise, it wouldn’t matter in the first place that he doesn’t want to play with the Nets.