76ers Weren’t PJ Tucker’s First Choice in Free Agency?

When the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their do-or-die Game 6 against the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs last year, the now-six-time All-Star Joel Embiid made a public plea to Philly’s front office to sign somebody like PJ Tucker.

A few months later, the Sixers went out and signed PJ Tucker.

For weeks, it was clear that Philadelphia had the veteran forward on their radar. And in the opening minutes of free agency, Tucker landed himself a three-year deal in the $30 million range. The deal happened so quickly that the NBA had to investigate the Sixers for potential tampering, which resulted in a docked second-round pick for Philly.

Based on how quickly the Sixers signed Tucker, and the familiarity he had with the organization being a former member of the Houston Rockets, it seemed Tucker desired to land with the Sixers right after the Miami Heat finished their playoff run in the Eastern Conference Finals.

However, Tucker recently revealed that he wanted to stay where he was at.

"Honestly, I didn't want to leave," Tucker told the Miami Herald. "I expressed that I didn't want to leave. But their situation and them not wanting to be hard-capped, I knew it was going to be a possibility. My family is still there. So I obviously wanted to be there, but it didn't work out. ... I thought I was going to retire in Miami."

According to Tucker, he wanted the full midlevel exception, but for the Heat, they were unsure whether they would be able to financially make room for the veteran forward or not. And as Tucker believed his value was higher than what the Heat could offer at the time, several multi-year deals were coming his way.

We know now that the three-year deal from Daryl Morey and the Sixers convinced Tucker to reunite with James Harden and link forces with Joel Embiid.

Tucker admits he has no hard feelings towards the Heat’s organization. Clearly, Miami is still very fond of Tucker as Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra praised Tucker earlier this week, as did Miami’s star guard, Tyler Herro.

While the Sixers might not have been Tucker’s first choice, everything seems to be working out just fine in Philadelphia for the veteran forward, as he’s been doing what is asked of him in a Sixers uniform.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.