September 09, 2024
Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
Was pursuing and ultimately signing Paul George a prudent decision by the Sixers?
This offseason was one of the single most significant and eventful summers in Sixers history, culminating in the departure of several key contributors, the arrival of nine-time All-Star Paul George and plenty of other renowned NBA veterans and a new five-year contract for Tyrese Maxey. With George, Maxey and Joel Embiid, the Sixers have a star trio locked in for years to come.
In a wide-ranging survey, we gave you all the chance to voice your opinions about the Sixers' offseason decisions as well as your expectations for the team in 2024-25. Now, the time has come to break down the results.
Tomorrow, we'll look forward to the upcoming season with your answers about what the team will and should do once actual basketball is being played. But first, how do fans feel about the job Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey did assembling a new-look roster during the offseason?
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| A+ | 1.2% |
| A | 8.5% |
| A- | 10.6% |
| B+ | 23.8% |
| B | 29.7% |
| B- | 10.0% |
| C+ | 6.5% |
| C | 6.2% |
| C- | 11.2% |
| D+ | 0.3% |
Typically, the excitement for an incoming rookie drafted in the middle of the first round is greater than nearly two out of three votes being in the B-range, as is the case with McCain here. It is understandable in certain respects, though: McCain struggled quite a bit during NBA Summer League, and for many voters that is the only time they have seen him play. On top of that, it seems unlikely that he will factor into Sixers head coach Nick Nurse's rotation on a regular basis at any point in 2024-25.
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| A+ | 2.4% |
| A | 12.5% |
| A- | 17.2% |
| B+ | 26.4% |
| B | 24.9% |
| B- | 6.5% |
| C+ | 5.3% |
| C | 3.9% |
| C- | 0.3% |
| D+ | 0.3% |
| D | 0.3% |
Just over half of the voters being between B+ and B seems more than reasonable for Bona, who has tantalizing physical and athletic tools as well as a motor that never stops, but lacks consistent basketball skill right now. Bona is the third and final center on the team's roster entering the season; it will be interesting to see if he is treated as such or if Nurse goes to an unorthodox small-ball look before using the rookie out of UCLA.
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| A+ | 19.9% |
| A | 38.1% |
| A- | 18.5% |
| B+ | 9.1% |
| B | 8.2% |
| B- | 2.1% |
| C+ | 0.6% |
| C | 2.1% |
| C- | 0.6% |
| D+ | 0.3% |
| F | 0.6% |
Over three quarters of voters landing in the A-range is as predictable as it is understandable; George is one of the greatest and most accomplished players of his era while boasting a skillset that seems like a match made in heaven with Embiid and Maxey.
However, before the Sixers actually landed George, there was plenty of skepticism about whether or not it was the right move. George is 34 years old with a lengthy injury history and plenty of shaky playoff performances in his past. So, I posed the following question:
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| Wanted the Sixers to sign him; happy they did | 74.7% |
| Did not want the Sixers to sign him; now happy they did | 22.1% |
| Did not want the Sixers to sign him; upset they did | 2.9% |
| | 0.0% |
These results feel about in line with how it has felt anecdotally. There is no question that the Sixers will be much better in the short-term with George on board, but it is far from out of the question that his lengthy max contract eventually turns into a negative asset, particularly if he suffers another string of injuries.
| Grade | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Caleb Martin | Andre Drummond | Minimum signings |
| A+ | 24.7% | 31.1% | 18.2% | 5.9% |
| A | 35.9% | 28.7% | 25.2% | 20.4% |
| A- | 17.9% | 14.5% | 15.0% | 14.7% |
| B+ | 13.2% | 13.6% | 16.4% | 26.5% |
| B | 5.0% | 8.9% | 14.7% | 19.5% |
| B- | 1.8% | 1.8% | 5.9% | 7.1% |
| C+ | 0.6% | 0.9% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
| C | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2.9% |
| C- | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| D+ | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
There was essentially unanimous support for all of these moves — and, on paper, they all look like shrewd signings by Morey and co. — but it will be interesting to revisit how folks feel about all of these deals in a few months from now.
It is hard to imagine these deals being criticized too harshly at any point in the near future, as the Sixers exclusively got players on deals that were either below their market values or small enough that even if the player underperforms, it would not be any sort of hindrance to roster-building.
I was a bit surprised that fans were not incredibly excited about the team's four veteran's minimum signings. To not use a shred of cap space in order to add Kyle Lowry, Eric Gordon, Guerschon Yabusele and Reggie Jackson is quite an impressive achievement. Even if none of those players give the Sixers as much value as Oubre did on a minimum deal in 2023-24, the group represents an excellent outcome when needing to fill out a roster with four minimum players. Lowry and Gordon figure to be Nurse's first two guards off the bench when the season starts, with Yabusele entrenched in a battle for backup power forward minutes with upward mobility and Jackson serving as a viable third-string point guard option.
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| Nic Batum | 81.7% |
| Cam Payne | 6.8% |
| Buddy Hield | 5.3% |
| Paul Reed | 3.5% |
| Robert Covington | 1.8% |
| Tobias Harris | 0.9% |
Batum was a no-brainer here, his two-way impact for the Sixers last season was outstanding and his skills would have been perfect on this new iteration of the team. I was glad to see Payne receive some adoration here — he is going to be a helpful piece for the New York Knicks next season.
The only aspect of this voting that surprised me was how large of a share of the vote Harris received.
| Answer | Percentage of votes |
| A+ | 11.7% |
| A | 39.6% |
| A- | 24.3% |
| B+ | 15.0% |
| B | 7.0% |
| B- | 1.5% |
| C+ | 0.6% |
| C | 0.3% |
Over 75 percent of voters in the A-range and more than 99 percent of voters at a B- or above! Morey and his front office should take a bow, satisfying a rabid and fed up Sixers fan base to this degree is not easy.
Of course, if the Sixers never achieve the success they have long strived for, nobody will remember that people who took our survey thought Morey did a fine job. But there appears to be no disputing that after a year and change of planning to create as much financial flexibility as possible, the Sixers maximized every dollar available to them.
