2014 Philadelphia 76ers

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Philadelphia 76ers (Last Year: 19-63)

2013-14 Season Summary:
The Philadelphia 76ers have taken rebuilding to a whole new level. They pretty much gave away Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes before the trade deadline and ultimately trotted out a D-League caliber team on the floor. As a result, Philadelphia tied an NBA record by losing 26 straight games.

With the abysmal season behind them, the 76ers will look to build around NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel (even though he missed all of this past season while recovering from injury). Philadelphia will have a pair of lottery picks and a ton of cap space to play with this offseason.

2014-15 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Nerlens Noel/*Byron Mullens/^Henry Sims

PF: Thaddeus Young/^Brandon Davies/Arnett Moultrie/^Jarvis Varnado

SF: ^Hollis Thompson/#Adonis Thomas

SG: ^James Anderson/*Jason Richardson/^Elliot Williams

PG: Michael Carter-Williams/Tony Wroten

NBA Free Agents:

*SG-Jason Richardson (PO)

*C-Byron Mullens (PO)

^C-Henry Sims (TO)

^SG-James Anderson (TO)

^SF-Hollis Thompson (TO)

^PF-Brandon Davies (TO)

^SG-Elliot Williams (TO)

#SF-Adonis Thomas (RFA)

2014-15 Team Salary: Approximately $33.5 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Small Forward: Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker would be an ideal fit for the Sixers here since they have no small forward on their roster. Philadelphia pretty much gave away Evan Turner prior to the trade deadline, so this is a huge area of need to add wing help. If the 76ers end up with Joel Embiid at No. 3 in the 2014 NBA Draft, they could use their second lottery pick to fill this need or find a cheap free agent to fill the void.

2. Shooting Guard: Jason Richardson holds a player option on the final year of his deal, and James Anderson’s contract is not guaranteed for next season. Even if both guys return, they are short-term fixes more so than long-term solutions. Look for the Sixers to target a shooting guard of the future with one of their first-round picks to hopefully find a future backcourt mate for Carter-Williams.

3. Post Scorer: Even if Nerlens Noel is ready to make an impact and Thaddeus Young returns, Philadelphia doesn’t have a real low post scoring threat. Noel is more of a shot-blocking/rebounding presence who possesses little offensive game, while Young plays on the perimeter more than in the paint. Embiid would be a solution to this issue.

4. Shop Young: The 76ers have completely blown up the ship … with the exception of Thaddeus Young. The organization needs to stick to that script and see if it can parlay Young into more future assets, perhaps another first-round pick.