Three Sixers moves in addition to the Paul George signing:

So it’s Drummond for 2 years and $10 million, Oubre at 2 years/$16.3 million with a player option, and the Gordon deal is 1 year at $3.3 million. That’s the veteran’s minimum.

These are all good moves. You’ve added Joel Embiid’s backup, a 5th starter or possible 6th man type who straddles the line and can score, and then a 35-year-old former Rocket who is always good for 10 points whether he’s coming off the bench or thrown into the main group. Gordon is one of those guys who Sixers fans have linked to their team for something like five years now, so in typical Philly fashion it finally happens when the guy is near the end of his career. He can still play though, so we’ll see what’s left in the tank for this season. Getting him on that minimum is great.

RE: Drummond, consensus is that he was Embiid’s best backup. Better than Amir Johnson, Greg Monroe, Paul Reed, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Montrezl Harrell, and whomever else we have mercifully forgotten. He’s one of those guys who has been in the league forever, so you think he’s long in the tooth, but he’s actually only 30 and just played two seasons for the Bulls in which he came off the bench to average 7 and 8 at about 15-16 minutes per game. That’s all you really need from him here. If the non-Embiid minutes are a non-disaster, then it’s a success. He rebounds better than anyone on the 2023-2024 squad and addresses a weakness there.

And Oubre was probably the main guy tabbed for a Sixers return. He averaged 15 and 5 in 2023 and started 52 games, played some solid on-ball defense, and definitely seemed like one of those guys who enjoyed playing here. As long as he doesn’t get hit by a car in 2024 or call the refs bitches, he should have a good year. Last year was a prove-it deal and he proved it, so he’s back on a reasonable contract.


The question is whether or not these three moves + Paul George + whatever is to come makes the Sixers a threat to the Celtics. I’m not sure. But they had to try, and it’s obvious that as long as Joel Embiid is here, they’re going to keep building a championship contender around him until the wheels fall off or Joel’s legs fall off.

These are good bits of business from Daryl Morey. Or “biz-nass,” as Ludacris would say.