Sixers just another mediocre franchise these days. Big-time contracts may continue to set them back.
The Sixers snapped a string of seven consecutive playoff appearances. While they might be in position to keep their first-round pick, signing Paul George and extending Joel Embiid could be a setback.
If you wondered where the 76ers fit in the NBA hierarchy, Paul Pierce provided a resounding answer.
These days, the Sixers are just another NBA franchise — no different than the Brooklyn Nets, the Sacramento Kings, or the Portland Trail Blazers. Take away the high-profile players, and they’re just another irrelevant franchise stuck in the abyss of mediocrity.
The Sixers wanted to make a bold move last summer and freed up a lot of cap space to sign free-agent Paul George to a maximum-salary deal. They also re-signed Tyrese Maxey to a max deal and gave Joel Embiid a max extension.
» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey should be shut down next. His return would hurt Sixers’ tank race.
Instead, reality hit them like a left hook when Embiid and George failed to remain healthy. And when it became obvious that this season indeed was a disaster, the Sixers began tanking with the hope of keeping their first-round pick, which is top-six protected. And they just might be in a position to keep it.
Saturday night’s much-needed, 118-95, loss to the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center eliminated the Sixers from the postseason. At 23-51, they have the league’s fifth-worst record with eight games remaining. In addition to riding a seven-game losing streak, the Sixers have lost 24 of 28 games.
Finishing the season with the fifth-worst record will give them a 63.9% chance of keeping the pick. However, a draft pick won’t account for the fact that signing George and extending Embiid may have set the franchise back.
Nor does it make up for the fact that this season’s team is the franchise’s worst since “The Process.” But at least back then, the future was bright because the franchise had young stars, cap space, and lottery picks.
The current status of the franchise led Pierce, a former Boston Celtics great, to speak out on a recent episode of the KG Certified podcast.
“What’s going on in Philly right now is a disaster,” he said. “If I’m the owner? Everybody’s gone. I’m talking about all the way down.”
As Pierce correctly points out, the Sixers have gone backward.
Doc Rivers was fired as coach on May 16, 2023, after a third straight loss in the second round of the playoffs. His firing came on the heels of leading the Sixers to a second straight 50-win season. However, he failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001.
» READ MORE: Sixers’ injuries turned a highly anticipated season into a disaster. How will they move forward?
That resulted in Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey hiring Nick Nurse to get the squad beyond the second round.
But last season, the team suffered a first-round playoff loss after needing to advance to the postseason through the Play-In Tournament. This season, they’ll snap a string of seven straight playoff appearances.
“I’m over it,” Pierce said of the Sixers current makeup. “Fresh air for everybody. Embiid needs fresh air. Paul George, Daryl Morey need some fresh air. Nick Nurse needs some fresh air. [Nurse] is cool, but he needs some fresh air.”
The Sixers’ struggles aren’t Nurse’s fault. He’s as decorated as they come, having led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and won 2020 Coach of the Year honors.
Even Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson, who won a combined 20 NBA titles, would struggle to produce a winner here — especially with Embiid (left knee injury management) and George (left groin injury recovery) being shut down for the remainder of the season.
Embiid (19 games) and George (41) played in a combined 60 games this season.
While the Sixers are hopeful about next season, Embiid and George have extensive injury histories and hard-to-move contracts. So things are far from guaranteed to improve.
Despite this, folks tend to hold the Sixers in high regard based on their storied history.
With 3,124 victories, the Sixers are the third-winningest franchise behind the Celtics (3,689) and Los Angeles Lakers (3,595). They’re tied with the Heat and Detroit Pistons for the sixth-most NBA titles with three apiece. And the Sixers’ 14 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame players rank third behind the Celtics (19) and Lakers (18).
» READ MORE: Marcus Morris is the latest player to question whether the Sixers’ Daryl Morey can be trusted
But they’re currently amid their first 50-plus loss season since 2016-17 and 15th. And entering the season, the Sixers had the NBA’s fourth-longest conference finals drought (23 years) behind the Washington Wizards (45), Charlotte Hornets (36), and New York Knicks (24).
So the Sixers are no longer the Sixers we are used to. The once-proud franchise has recently proved to be mediocre when it matters the most.