The Philadelphia 76ers did not feature in trade rumors recently, but Joel Embiid has given a target to the front office before the February 5 deadline. The team grabbed a narrow win against the Sacramento Kings, 113-111, after the Embiid-Tyrese Maxey duo led the scoring with 77 combined points.
The 76ers have managed to avoid the luxury tax limit ($187,895,000) for the last few seasons, and The Process wanted to keep it that way. After the game with the Kings, Embiid talked about this and said:
“In the past we’ve been ducking the [luxury] tax so hopefully we think about improving because I believe we have a chance.”
The team has looked good this season, as they are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-21. The only issue that the management can look to improve is in the rebounds department.
In the last game, for instance, the team collected 24 rebounds total (two offensive) compared to the losing Kings side, who had 46 rebounds (15 offensive). Embiid is a ball-heavy center who looks to make a play and not operate in the paint so much, which has limited their rebounds.
The management might look to add a rebounder and can offload the contracts of Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond, or Eric Gordon. After signing Charles Bassey to a 10-day contract, the team is $7.1 million above the threshold. They look like a playoff team right now, even though getting pushed like this against a team lurking at the bottom of the conference might not be the best look for them.
“I think we got pretty lucky,” Joel Embiid and Co.’s head coach Nick Nurse after the Kings win
The 76ers’ head coach, Nick Nurse, also sensed that not everything was in rhythm, even though the team came out of Xfinity Mobile Arena with a win. After the game, the coach said:
“I think we got pretty lucky, to be honest with you… I think we got lucky to get out of there with a win. We weren’t very good rebounding the ball. We weren’t very good in transition. We weren’t very good defensively, not until we had to be. So, yeah. We were pretty fortunate to get out of there with a win tonight.”
The team management might look to address the team’s rebounding issue before the trade deadline. They have a talented rookie in VJ Edgecombe, a versatile wing operator in Paul George, an explosive guard in Tyrese Maxey, and an offense-operator center, which seems like a recipe for success!
Meanwhile, there have been some chatters of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s alleged interest in playing with Tyrese. While there is no confirmation, the front office can look at an immediate title run if they plan to bring the Greek Freak. The ball, for now, is in the management’s court.
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