NBA free agency: Sixers essentially have the same roster from last season’s 24-win team

Lonnie Walker IV is gone. Jared Butler, too. The skillful Trendon Waltford is here.

Fan favorite Guerschon Yabusele is gone. The serviceable pair of Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow are here.

By the time the NBA free agency period passes, the 76ers expect restricted free agent Quentin Grimes to re-sign here.

“Well, I think we went in with a big goal of being younger, more athletic, among [the players] that we think will likely be on the floor. I feel like we’ve done that,” said Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey to a group of around 10 reporters Friday in Las Vegas. “I think around Joel [Embiid] and Paul [George], I think pretty much every likely rotation player is 27, 28 or younger.

“So, yeah, we’re looking forward to that, and optimistic on where things are at with Joel. So, yeah, looking forward to next season.”

» READ MORE: Sixers’ ‘Big Three’ determined to spend more time together, get closer and play better

But the Sixers still find themselves in the same predicament to last season’s team that finished with a league fifth-worst 24-58 record.

They’ll bring back the same core group. And the new acquisitions don’t change the fact that the team’s success is dependent on Embiid’s health.

As exciting as VJ Edgecombe is, the Sixers are trying to temper the fans’ lofty expectations after seeing the third pick in last month’s NBA draft finish with 28 points and 10 rebounds in July 5’s Salt Lake City Summer League game against the Utah Jazz.

The Sixers did get younger while adding depth at the forward position with the signings of Watford, 24, Walker, 22, and Barlow, 22. The problem is none of the three are considered starter-level players on a contending team.

“We needed to get players in Jabari and Barlow — I’m just going through our later positions — and then Trendon are all sort of part of this, sort of push to get younger and more versatile," Morey said. “Trendon can guard multiple positions and he’s fairly unique in his ability to handle the pass, which I do think across the roster that’s a skill that we felt like we needed.”

Walker and Barlow should provide depth despite only signing two-way contracts. But the Sixers note that Ricky Council IV and Justin Edwards are among players who have turned two-way opportunities into multiyear standard deals. They feel Walker and Barlow, both three-year NBA veterans, are capable of doing the same.

And the Sixers also signed a two-way guard out of Wake Forest in the high-flying Hunter Sallis, 22. He and second-round pick Johni Broome, 22, will look to crack the rotation.

However, they re-signed the oldest members of last season’s squad in Kyle Lowry, 39, and Eric Gordon, 36. At this stage, their best asset is mentorship.

Gordon, who played 17 NBA seasons, will be a great confidante to the 19-year-old Edgecombe, his Bahamian national team teammate. As a career 37.2% three-point shooter, Gordon could also provide shooting in key situations if needed.

» READ MORE: VJ Edgecombe’s injury has opened old wounds for Sixers fans trying to get over the 2024-25 season

But Lowry, who has played 19 NBA seasons, will be an extension of the coaching staff. He’ll continue to help players buy into what coach Nick Nurse is selling.

The former Cardinal Dougherty and Villanova standout was Nurse’s standout floor leader on the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship team. While the six-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist’s level of play has dropped off, he remains an animated leader and perhaps the most well-respected player in the locker room.

Losing Yabusele will be a setback for the Sixers, though.

He received a two-year, $12 million contract with the New York Knicks after the Sixers made a low offer due to keeping money available to re-sign Grimes.

While they added depth, Yabusele was the perfect reserve big man for the Sixers.

The 6-foot-7, 280-pounder can play power forward and center. He’s a spot-up shooter who plays with physicality, toughness, and athleticism.

His departure could hurt the Sixers, considering Embiid’s health concerns.

The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 9 at NYU Langone Sports Medicine Center. It was the second left knee surgery in 14 months and three in nine years.

The Athletic reported that Embiid, who played in 19 games last season, has yet to return to full on-court activities. However, Morey said Embiid is “on track” to be healthy at the start of the season.

» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele: No ‘hard feelings’ toward Sixers, but they made a ‘really, really low’ offer

The Eastern Conference is wide-open next season thanks in large part to ruptured Achilles tendons of Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton. With Tatum out, the 2024 NBA champions made drastic roster moves while undertaking a semi-rebuild and trying to get under the second luxury-tax apron.

In addition to losing Haliburton, the NBA Finals runner-up Pacers also lost center Myles Turner in free agency to the Milwaukee Bucks.

As a result, the Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers are the conference’s teams to beat.

“We’re going to have to prove that we’re sort of with those upper echelon teams in the East,” Morey said of the Knicks and Cavs. “But we do feel like if all things come together, we can be right there. And we’ve also given ourselves a lot of flexibility to upgrade the team during the year if things are going as well as we hope.”

The Sixers did get younger at certain positions and added size with Watford, Walker, and Barlow, who are all 6-9.

Yet, nothing has really changed since the start of free agency. They still need Embiid healthy and playing at a high level to contend for an NBA championship.

Morey somewhat disagrees. He thinks they’ll need Embiid, nine-time All-Star George, and Maxey all healthy to win a title.

» READ MORE: he Sixers keep getting closer to a deep playoff run thanks to other teams’ bad luck and bad decisions

“I don’t think we can do it without that,” Morey said. “I would like to say that, but I don’t see it. So, yeah, I do think we’re very dependent on all those guys, including Joel.”

George, who played in 41 games, received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his left knee on March 17. And the Sixers officially shut down Maxey on April 9 because of a sprained right little finger, even though he hadn’t played since March 3. The point guard played in 52 games.

But aside from a few tweaks, the Sixers are essentially bringing back the same roster from a team that finished with 24 wins a season ago.

So they had better remain healthy.