Sixers’ Back-Of-The-Roster Moves Speak To Their Long-Term Vision

After waiving Trevelin Queen on Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers’ front office got right back to work. They quickly signed Mac McClung, Justin Smith and Patrick McCaw, and they just as quickly waived all three players, according to multiple reports. All three will sign contracts with the Sixers’ G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Those might seem like largely inconsequential moves, and they are in the short term. However, they suggest that the Sixers’ front office is already thinking three steps ahead despite being fully in win-now mode.

By adding P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr. and Montrezl Harrell this summer, the Sixers might have put together the deepest roster they’ve had in the Joel Embiid era. Their bench has been a glaring liability in recent years, but it now looks like a legitimate strength heading into the 2022-23 season.

Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle and Georges Niang were among the Sixers’ most-used reserves last season. None of them are even guaranteed a spot in the rotation this year. That newfound depth should help the Sixers withstand injuries that pop up throughout the regular season.

That depth may only be a short-term luxury, though.

Milton, Thybulle and Niang are all headed into the final years of their respective contracts, as are backup big man Paul Reed and shooting guard Isaiah Joe. Thybulle, Reed and Joe are likely headed for restricted free agency next summer, while Milton and Niang will be unrestricted free agents. House and Harrell can join them by declining their respective $4.3 million and $2.8 million player options for the 2023-24 season.

The Sixers do have most of their key players locked up through at least 2023-24 other than James Harden. He has a $35.6 million player option that he could look to decline next summer—particularly if he has a bounce-back year in 2022-23—in favor of a longer-term contract. Regardless, he doesn’t appear likely to leave Philadelphia next summer either.

Financial considerations could cause the Sixers to churn through their back-of-the-rotation roster spots, though.

If Harden re-signs with the Sixers on a max contract next offseason, they’ll already be flirting with luxury-tax territory despite having only eight players under contract. With harsher luxury-tax penalties potentially lurking in the league’s next collective bargaining agreement, it may be financially prohibitive to re-sign every one of their bench players who becomes a free agent next summer.

The Sixers already traded away their unprotected 2023 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in the deal that landed them Harden in February, too. That may leave them with only the $7.0 million taxpayer mid-level exception and veteran-minimum contracts to round out their roster behind Harden, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris.

That’s why it bodes well that they’re already using preseason roster spots to take fliers on some potential rotation options in future years.

McCaw is a five-year veteran who won championships during each of his first three NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors (2016-17 and 2017-18) and Toronto Raptors (2018-19). The 25-year-old played 17 games with the Blue Coats this past season, averaging 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 three-pointers in 25.6 minutes per game.

McClung went undrafted in the 2021 draft, but he latched on with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls for brief stints last season. He spent most of his time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers, where he averaged 21.0 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 34.7 minutes per game en route to the G League Rookie of the Year award.

Smith likewise went undrafted last season, but he spent most of the years with the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, the Raptors 905. In 29 games (including five starts), he averaged 8.5 points and 5.7. rebounds in 21.8 minutes per outing.

Getting those three into the Blue Coats program will give the Sixers a longer look at whether any of them could develop into NBA rotation players down the line. The Sixers are prioritizing shooting, toughness and two-way players as they build around Embiid, Harden and Maxey, so McCaw, McClung and Smith should have a clear idea of what skills they need to demonstrate this season, too.

There’s a real chance that none of McCaw, McClung and Smith latch on with the Sixers. That’s OK. Taking a low-risk swing on them is well worth it on the off chance that one or more of them do eventually pan out.

If anything, this strategy harkens back to the early-Process ethos of churning through undrafted free agents to find hidden gems. While most of them only had a cup of coffee in the NBA—we’ll always remember you, Henry Sims—Robert Covington eventually became a key component of the trade package for Jimmy Butler.

Maxey is emblematic of how one major hit outside of the NBA draft lottery can change the entire trajectory of a franchise. Fliers on players such as McCaw, McClung and Smith are even lower-odds propositions, but hitting on any one of them could help the Sixers replenish their bench depth after this season.

Harden, Embiid and the Sixers’ coaching staff should fully be in win-now mode this year. But it’s a promising sign that the front office already has an eye on the future as well given the potential bench-depth issues looming next offseason.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac or RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.