The Philadelphia 76ers Could Make Big Changes This Offseason

The Philadelphia 76ers have had another roller-coaster season and have been plagued by injuries. Joel Embiid has missed over a week with an oblique strain, and Kelly Oubre and Tyrese Maxey are set to miss multiple weeks. On top of this, they’ve been without Paul George, who’s suspended for 25 games, with his return set for March 25 against the Chicago Bulls.

After trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the deadline, everything went downhill. It ruined the locker room, and the team has fallen apart. The same issues recur nightly, and the front office, along with the coaching staff, has taken a ton of heat over the last couple of weeks.

76ers Are Getting Crushed

Right now, Philadelphia’s roster is a hot mess, and that’s putting things lightly. Three of their max players aren’t on the court, and their depth isn’t good enough to win games and keep them afloat in the standings. Even with their star players, they couldn’t keep it together in the third quarter, blowing tons of leads late in games. 

The 76ers are getting blown out left and right, and the poor roster construction is really starting to show. It’s the same problem they’ve had for years: a terrible bench that can’t step up when the starters are out. At this point, it’s really impossible to win when your three best and highest-paid players cannot get out on the court and mesh together.

With Maxey out for three weeks, it really puts the nail in their season. After trading McCain, the guard depth on the roster is extremely thin now that Quentin Grimes is in the starting rotation. Behind him and VJ Edgecombe is Kyle Lowry, who should’ve retired six years ago. Daryl Morey has failed once again, and the McCain trade continues to look worse by the day.

The Stars Started It All

George’s suspension for 25 games is really what started this whole thing. His defensive presence is clearly a huge loss, and he still has about two weeks left. Following his suspension, Embiid suffered an oblique strain against the Miami Heat, marking the second star to go down for Philadelphia. When he’s on the floor, the 76ers are a completely different team and look lost without him.

The most recent loss was Maxey, who suffered a hand injury late in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks after colliding with Adem Bona. Maxey was responsible for carrying the load and was playing at an elite level. Without him, it falls on all rookie VJ Edgecombe, who isn’t ready to be the top option for the team with Championship aspirations.

Are Big Changes Coming?

The chances of the 76ers turning things around and winning a playoff series are unlikely. If they do get bounced early on in the playoffs, there will be significant changes this offseason. Nick Nurse has had multiple seasons with different personnel, and the same problems keep happening. His rotations and inability to stack his stars are ridiculous, and he can’t make adjustments in the second half.

I don’t expect anything to happen to Daryl Morey, because we all know the excuse that’s coming. “Well, we feel confident that when we’re fully healthy, we’re one of the best teams in the East and can win a Championship.” While it’s not totally wrong, had he built a better bench, this team would be better equipped. As the season comes to an end, time will tell if the 76ers are in for a ton of changes this upcoming offseason.