The Philadelphia 76ers, obviously, won the offseason. Their new front office, led by President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey, flanked by VP of Basketball Operations Jameer Nelson and Harris & Blitzer Sports Entertainment President of Sports Bob Myers, was able to land the likes of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to add to an already talented roster.
The first big move was moving Paul George and picks to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brown, which then set them up in the James sweepstakes. Philadelphia was able to grab the future Hall of Famer on a 2-year $8 million deal and add him to a roster that already featured Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe. Those moves draw high praise.
Bleacher Report gave the Sixers an 'A' for the offseason
moves they made:
We cautiously defended the Celtics' side of the Jaylen Brown trade, but the calculus is different here. The same concerns about Brown's personality, future cost and shaky analytics don't matter as much on a Philadelphia 76ers team that is already all-in on the present, wildly expensive and in need of a two-way wing just like him.
Plus, adding Brown made the Sixers attractive enough to land LeBron James on a minimum. In that sense, Philadelphia dealt Paul George and a couple of firsts for Brown and James. That's a great little piece of business.
Dean Wade (four years, $39 million) and Anfernee Simons (two years, $12.2 million) were among the best mid-tier contracts secured by any team. The result of the Sixers' active offseason is a squad that can now credibly be viewed as a championship threat.
The Sixers will feature a strong starting lineup with the star power they possess before then turning to a bench unit that will feature some legitimate threats. This is a roster that is championship-ready as long as coach Nick Nurse and his staff can get everybody in a rhythm and on the same page in terms of their goals.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers receive high markings for final offseason grade before camp
