NBA Free Agents Are Showing More Interest In Joining The Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers have been making noise this offseason. The team hired Bryan Colangelo to become president of basketball operations. They had the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. The 76ers selected arguably the best player coming out of the college ranks. That alone has raised fan interest in Philadelphia. Not only are fans interested but players also. According to Sporting News, free agents are said be showing more interest in joining the 76ers this summer.

Three years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers hired Sam Hinkie to become their president of basketball operations. That was the beginning of what is now known as Hinkie’s Process. He was trying to acquire as many draft assets as possible.

Over the past five seasons, more than 60 percent of the players who made an All NBA Team were top five picks in the draft. Sam Hinkie is responsible for drafting Nerlens Noel, Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor. Before Hinkie resigned, he left the Philadelphia 76ers with a lot of draft picks. One of those picks became the first overall selection.

Link to the @espn latest w/ @MarcJSpearsESPN on Philly's interest in Harrison Barnes (plus Shaun Livingston news) -> https://t.co/FZFB7OyFtL

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 28, 2016

The Philadelphia 76ers decided to hire Bryan Colangelo. He has an amazing track record in building teams to compete for an NBA Championship. Colangelo was the team president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns.

The hiring of Bryan Colangelo signaled that the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to speed up the process and hopefully compete for an NBA Championship within the next couple of years. Colangelo has been busy since joining the 76ers.

Bryan Colangelo started the process by making Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor available for trade. He was hoping to get back another top five pick in the NBA Draft. Things didn’t turn out that way. Both players are still on the roster and on the trading block.

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Ben Simmons with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. He was considered the best player in the draft. Simmons has been compared to LeBron James. The former LSU Tigers star has some high expectations coming into his rookie season.

With the NBA Draft over, the Philadelphia 76ers are turning their attention to free agency. Bryan Colangelo will be looking for some help in the backcourt. They currently do not have a starting point guard or shooting guard. Ben Simmons is the only playmaker they have on the roster.

The Philadelphia 76ers currently have $25 million in salary on the books. They will have a ton of money to spend on free agents. The 76ers will need to add $60 million in payroll to meet the salary floor. Bryan Colangelo knows he cannot pull in the big name players like Kevin Durant and Al Horford.

The players that the Philadelphia 76ers might be targeting are Harrison Barnes, Allen Crabbe, Dion Waiters, Evan Fournier, and Jordan Clarkson. Barnes is a young wing player who is expected to command the maximum contract this summer. Crabbe is a young shooting guard who could turn into a 3-and-D player. Waiters has offensive potential. Fournier has shown that he is a quality shooter. Clarkson has the ability to be a dynamic player. What all those players have in common is that they are young.

The Philadelphia 76ers look like they are turning things around. They could potential be a force in the Eastern Conference in the next couple of years. The 76ers have a young group of players on their roster right now. If Bryan Colangelo can bring some young talent in free agency, they can speed up that process. The 76ers have Brett Brown as their coach. He learned from one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball and that’s Gregg Popovich.

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