NY Knicks Rivals: How does the Atlantic Division stack up post-deadline?
By Adam Kester
NY Knicks Atlantic Division Rivals: The Philadelphia 76ers
At the end of the day, when it comes to team building, simply drafting a star player is what can lead to a decade of success.
It shows just how the luck of the draw can really impact an entire league, and the Philadelphia 76ers certainly hit the jackpot when they drafted Joel Embiid almost a decade ago.
Even after a scary start to his career, Joel Embiid has become one of the most dominant and one of the most consistent players in the entire league.
The 76ers have had varying levels of success over the years on this Embiid-centered team. In fact, they’ve already made some win-now moves — trading for players like Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick, handing out monster contracts to players like Al Horford and Tobias Harris.
Much of the roster-building in Philly has been viewed as a failure, and yet, they still seem to have solid positioning for the foreseeable future.
As we all know, this team just made the biggest move of the season and acquired James Harden at the trade deadline.
While they currently sit at the 6th seed, I’d expect the 76ers to make a jump in the standings.
They have some nice young pieces in Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thbybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz. Really, their long-term ceiling will depend on James Harden and his commitment, but for now, this is certainly one of the better teams in the East.