Depth, development and where the Sixers go next

In watching this year’s conference finals, it’s apparent how woefully ill-equipped the Sixers were for a deep playoff run. Sure, I will never forget the sheer euphoria of slaying the Celtics after rebounding from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round this spring, but cold water got thrown on that fun quite quickly given how dominant the Knicks were in sweeping them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Knicks did the same thing to Cleveland and are now back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. In the West, the Thunder and Spurs are preparing for a Game 5 slugfest on Tuesday night in a series that’s destined to go the distance. The Sixers just aren’t able to compete with these teams as currently constructed and it’s becoming more and more clear nightly.

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The problems of this Sixers season, and, really, this whole era for the franchise, predate the misfires from former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, but the executive’s time running the show for the team did little to put them on the cutting edge of the sport. Morey’s time as an assistant in Boston’s front office and then as the lead exec in Houston had at the heart of the NBA’s analytical revolution, a figure who was on the lookout for what the future of basketball would be. The Sixers’ whole setup right now, in contrast, is outdated.

The Sixers and Morey’s quest for a “Big 3” is a relic that went out of vogue a couple presidential administrations ago. Looking at the three teams still standing this postseason in New York, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the pieces are so different and result in an equation that has a championship answer, unlike what the Sixers are doing.

Sure, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama are poised to be MVP candidates for at least the next half-decade and Jalen Brunson is a star in his own right, but these teams are so deep and so well rounded that their bench glue guys are way better out there on the court than some actual Sixers starters and key cogs. Alex Caruso would be, what, the fourth-best player on the Sixers? Miles McBride would have a cult devoted…

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Publish date : 2026-05-26 19:52:00

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