The Philadelphia 76ers recently made the first big move of their offseason, appointing Mike Gansey as the President of Basketball Operations of the organization, taking over for the recently departed Daryl Morey, who held the position for six years in the City of Brotherly Love.
Gansey, who made the move from the Cleveland Cavaliers to be a part of the Sixers’ organization, will have a lot on his plate in the coming months, with free agency and the upcoming NBA Draft being among the top priorities.
An issue or aspect of his job that seamlessly blends between the two aforementioned priorities is roster construction, something that Philadelphia hasn’t had the easiest of times doing in the past few years, given that their salary cap is massively tied up in their big three players, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George.
Gansey's view on Embiid and the 76ers' Roster
While there are always discussions about offloading one of the larger contracts on the Sixers’ payroll, during his introduction press conference on Monday morning, Gansey made his plans regarding the roster clear: he’s going to embrace them.
“We have Joel [Embiid], I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him so far, excited to meet with him this week,” Gansey stated to the press. “With him and roster we have, that’s who we have, we got to get those guys on the floor, we got to create an identity, and just get them to play basketball… we’re excited to see what we can build.”
Last year saw the Sixers go the furthest they’ve gone under head coach Nick Nurse, making it to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, following the opening round triumph against the second-seeded Boston Celtics. While Embiid's time on the court increased, it still wasn't at the level where he was prior to his meniscus injury in 2024, and the aforementioned George faced a lengthy suspension; Gansey could look towards Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to help form that identity.
Maxey soared to new heights last season, which resulted in his appearance on the All-NBA third team, while Edgecombe would make an emphatic entrance into the league, averaging 16 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, which was enough to be named to the NBA's All-Rookie first team, joining the likes of Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Kon Knueppel on the yearly honor.
From here, the Philadelphia faithful will have to wait and see what Gansey and the team’s front office has in store, as NBA free agency doesn’t open until June 30, and the draft is sitting a little over two weeks away.
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