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*Photo via Philly,com
The Philadelphia 76ers haven't been able to sign any noteworthy free agents for the last five years. They have been stuck in rebuilding mode the past few years and free agents haven't even given them meetings. Now the Sixers have signed Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson, but no marquee or All-Star players have even considered playing for this historic franchise in years. With the Sixers being unable to even meet with high quality free agents, what is the problem and what can they do get free agents and become a respectable and relevant franchise again?
One of the main issues that the Sixers had in free agency was trying to convince players that they had a functional and respectful organization. But like the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, the Sixers organization has been dysfunctional over the past few years. Sam Hinkie, former Sixers general manager, tanked for several seasons which discouraged free agents from signing. Also, unlike the Knicks or Lakers, the Sixers do not have any current All-Stars on the team. The Knicks have Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers had Kobe Bryant up until this season, but the Sixers do not have any, which would make it hard for players to be convinced to join.
The Sixers are not completely hopeless, however. They have great young talent (primarily bigs) and have the money to keep that talent and sign a max player or two. With Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, and Nerlens Noel, the Sixers have the talent to convince a young star or two to join. Also with the recent hiring of Bryan Colangelo, free agents may be more willing to be a Sixer.
Bryan Colangelo has a great relationships with players around the league due to his time with Team USA and you can surely bet that he will bring free agents to Philadelphia sooner than later. The Sixers have made strides in restoring their organization and with time they will be able to add free agents again. They've already added some decent free agents so far, but with time they will get an All-Star or two.
The Sixers were a forgotten franchise and the butt of everyone's jokes, but they are slowly creeping back out of the gutter and with more time and the development of the young core, the Sixers are going to be formidable and will be able to bring in free agents because of it.