3. Philadelphia 76ers
Marquee summer move: Signing Al Horford, acquiring Josh Richardson
It’s really tough to say definitively whether the Philadelphia 76ers improved or took a step back this summer. Though, one thing that you can say without much of an argument is that they certainly got deeper. In fact, the Sixers might be the deepest team in the NBA after adding Al Horford and Josh Richardson.
The big question for Philly is how much the loss of Jimmy Butler will really hurt? He was clearly the best player in their playoff series against the Raptors even though the team fell short of punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals.
If Ben Simmons can take a step forward this season – and this is not really the time to pester him about his jump shot – the Sixers likely won’t miss a beat and could potentially be a better version of themselves this season. Although, that’s a big “if” that I’m not sure we can answer right now.