3 Centers the Sixers Could Pursue in Free Agency
Joel Embiid has been the rock throughout his years as a Philadelphia 76er, garnering the nickname "The Process." Yet, one criticism of Embiid's game is that of his durability, with big injuries coming during Philadelphia's previous two post-season runs.
With the injury bug seeming to be constantly looming with Embiid, the front office has tried their best to sign valuable backup centers to take over for Embiid when he is out.
During this previous season, apart from Embiid, the Sixers had Andre Drummond, Paul Millsap, DeAndre Jordan, Paul Reed, and Charles Bassey.
Drummond was dealt out alongside Seth Curry and Ben Simmons for James Harden, as well as Paul Millsap. Jordan was signed in March from free agency following a stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yet, as of now, Philadelphia is left with Bassey, Reed, and players from the Delaware Blue Coats. So it may not be the worst idea for the front office to address this glaring issue and spend some of the remaining salary cap on a backup center. Their budget is approximately $18 million, according to Spotrac.
Here are three centers that the Sixers could pursue this offseason:
Demarcus Cousins
The first center that Philadelphia could look at is four-time All-Star Demarcus Cousins, who is coming off of stints with the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. Throughout these two stints, Cousins averaged nine points and six rebounds over 15 minutes per game. Granted, these numbers aren't great, but in comparison to Millsap and Jordan, he's putting up better production.
With Cousins' last major contract being worth $2.2 million, he would soar below the limit which Philadelphia can spend.
The second center the Sixers could look at is 2019-2020 Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell. Harrell is coming off a season with time split between the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards. During these stints, Harrell averaged 13 points per game with six rebounds.
Harrell's crowning achievement as the 19-20 Sixth Man of the Year should be all the more reason why Philadelphia should, at a minimum, float him an offer, as he has proven to be one of the best bench players in the league.
This experience would come at a heftier price than Cousins, as Harrell's previous contract with the Hornets was worth $9.7 million. Even if Harrell wanted to go higher than that, it would still remain within the Sixers' budget.
All of this does come with a big asterisk as Harrell is currently facing felony drug charges in Kentucky. So, he may not be the best option until getting all of it settled.
Frank Kaminsky
The third center that Philadelphia could look at during the offseason is Frank Kaminsky. Granted, hiring a player who is coming back from a season-ending injury to be on standby for an injury-prone player isn't the best plan. Kaminsky missed nearly the entire 2021-22 season after suffering a stress reaction in his right knee.
However, when Kaminsky is healthy, he is a solid bench player, averaging nine points and four rebounds a game over his career prior to his injury. Kaminsky, who is 29, could benefit from playing with the younger Embiid, as he could still improve his play in the paint.
Going off of Kaminsky's previous contract of $2.09 million over one year with the Suns, it's clear that the Sixers can more than afford him.
All of these players are able to be picked up by Philadelphia's front office while keeping some money left over for improvements in other positions on the court.
