Apart from their star-laden starting five, Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons are the Sixers’ only rotation locks, Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice writes in an analysis of the roster. Both players were added in free agency before Philadelphia traded for Jaylen Brown or signed LeBron James, and new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey was able to fit their salaries ($9MM for Wade and $6MM for Simons) into the mid-level exception.
Aaronson expects the combination to be more valuable than Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes, two free agents who were let go to open up the MLE. Wade is a versatile defender and a complementary piece on offense who had plenty of experience playing alongside stars in Cleveland. Simons is one of the league’s best three-point shooters, connecting at 38.1% for his career, and will provide an offensive spark off the bench behind Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
Aaronson notes that coach Nick Nurse prefers a nine-man rotation during the regular season and speculates that the other spots will be some mixture of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti. He adds that Barlow may eventually emerge as a small-ball center, but Nurse is more likely to give backup minutes to Bona and Hukporti early in the season to see which of them is most effective.
First-round pick Labaron Philon Jr. is viewed as a “depth piece,” along with Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker. Aaronson cautions that no one should be alarmed if Philon doesn’t get consistent minutes right away, pointing out that there are plenty of ball-handling options ahead of him on the depth chart.
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Barlow concentrated on improving his shooting form this summer, Aaronson adds in a separate story. Barlow explained that an elbow injury he suffered early last season forced him to compensate with his wrist and shoulder, which eventually led to discomfort in the wrist. With those ailments behind him, Barlow has been focused on becoming more consistent with his outside shot, especially from the corners. “Right now, just looking at our personnel, the guys we have running the floor and filling in those spots, I think making that shot is the most important thing,” he said. “And if I’m making other shots, it’s definitely a plus. But if I can space the floor out from the corners, I think it gives our team a whole different look with all the other stuff that I do.”
Edwards is among the players who were most affected by the offseason additions, Chris Hine of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) states in a mailbag column. The 22-year-old small forward appeared in 64 games last season and made 12 starts, but there don’t appear to be regular minutes available for him on the new roster.
The Sixers stars will need to build continuity during the regular season to give themselves a realistic shot at a title run, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN states in an offseason recap/early season preview. James’ age and Joel Embiid’s injury history could both get in the way of that, and neither player is expected to be used very often in back-to-back games. Goodwill notes that James’ teams tend to perform better in their second year together, but the Sixers may have an urgency to win right away.