Following the team’s fourth second-round exit in the last five years, the Sixers enter the offseason with the task of soul searching while finding a way to improve their chances to reach the ultimate goal of finally winning a title. There are plenty of reasons as to why the team lost in six games to the Miami Heat. Joel Embiid was battered and beaten, the team shooting struggled, and turnovers killed possessions. James Harden has been under a microscope after his poor play in most of the series, and the team that many hoped would make a deep run is now in the same boat as its predecessors asking themselves, “what is next?”

GM Daryl Morey has already said that he is retaining head coach Doc Rivers next season. To be honest, going into the playoffs I personally felt that there was no way they could bring him back if the team exited the postseason early again, however, with how things played out and how decimated the roster was, I actually feel that Rivers did the best he could with what he had. He deserves to get another chance at it, and hopefully with a deeper roster.

After the James Harden trade happened, I was buried on our podcast for saying that I would have rather done the proposed deal with the Kings because of the depth factor. I felt that the team was now top heavy with a weakened bench and it would affect them in the playoffs. Doc’s rotations were not bad, but what he had out there was. The inconsistent shooting, the lack of defenders that can stop the bleeding, and the overall lack of a spark was evident. If you look around at the other teams still in the playoffs, they all seem to have that guy who comes off the bench and shoots the team in the arm. That type of player should be the number one priority this off season.

As nice as it would be to get a Bradley Beal, I am not so sure it is completely necessary. First off, you would have to find a taker for someone like Tobias Harris to clear money. Second, the team doesn’t exactly have a ton of assets to give away at this point. If they can focus on signing a 3-and-d type of player, or someone who is capable of giving you good valuable minutes without being a liability on either end of the floor would help this team out tremendously. Heck, they could even bring Dwight Howard or Andre Drummond back if they were interested. On the backend of the court, perhaps Otto Porter Jr, or Wayne Ellington could be options to bring in. None of those players would break the bank and would most likely be improvements over the current bench. With the growth of Tyrese Maxey, four out of the starting five should be able to generate enough opportunities to give the team a chance to win every night so the starters should not be a concern. If Danny Green does not return next year (of course he will miss time following an ACL tear), they will have that spot to fill as well.

It’s also clear that the team has fallen out of love with Matisse Thybulle. He could be a piece that they move in order to improve in other areas. The Sixers don’t seem to have a lot of wiggle room, especially if James Harden is true to his word that he is opting in to his 47 million dollar option for next season. Whatever the team decides to do, they are going to need to think hard about it and perhaps get creative because with his season passing, the window for this era of Sixers basketball is closing. Joel Embiid is in his prime, and as a big man those years don’t generally last very long. Needless to say, the fans’ patience is wearing thin and want the results that were promised when the team tanked for all of those years.