Philadelphia 76ers have big questions to answer during the offseason

After another disappointing playoff performance, the Philadelphia 76ers have some big questions to answer this offseason. 

When the Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden in exchange for Ben Simmons at the NBA Trade Deadline, many were quick to crown this team as a title favorite in the Eastern Conference. However, when push came to shove, the Sixers proved to once again be nothing more than a tease.

The Sixers had a couple of bright moments in the playoffs but ultimately lost in six games to the top-seeded Miami Heat. You can point to the injuries to Joel Embiid as a big part of their elimination, but let’s not act like the Heat weren’t dealing with their own injuries as well – several players on the Heat were banged up and Kyle Lowry missed four of the six games in the series and in the two games he did play in, he looked terrible.

All in all, if both teams are healthy, I’m not sure if the outcome is much different. That leads to some big offseason questions that the Sixers will have to answer.

Unfortunately, there has to be a scapegoat for what happened in the playoffs. That will likely be head coach Doc Rivers. But beyond that, there are many other issues that the team will have to figure out.

For one, what does the team do with Harden? He will be eligible for an extension this offseason – whether he opts out and re-signs or whether he opts in and then extends. The Sixers need to find the right number, assuming they want him back.

After trading Simmons for him, it would be surprising if the Sixers didn’t bring back Harden one way or another. Additionally, will the team try to trade Tobias Harris to find other avenues of improving the roster?

He’s making $37 million next season and still has two years remaining on his contract. He’s a player that appears movable but the Sixers probably would need to attach an asset to him. Apart from those two questions, the Sixers also have to figure out how to improve the supporting cast around Harden and Joel Embiid.

Clearly, what they have now is not good enough and Daryl Morey needs to find a way to do so effectively and efficiently.

As the roster is currently constructed, the Sixers are far from being a title contender. That much was evident in the playoffs.

The question is, how realistic is it to expect this team to significantly improve during the offseason while also navigating the big questions that they’ll need to answer?