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Let’s go four-for-four today.

Before we get started, it is worth checking out the guys’ interview with Daryl Morey. Of course we dropped it on the same day that the best longform journalism sports piece in a while dropped, and it was randomly about Joel Embiid of all people. But hey, that’s showbiz.

I do not like to criticize fellow Philly fans, but one of my least favorite things that I hear all the time is this refrain: The Sixers are really gonna do nothing this offseason? Daryl Morey presided over a 24-win team last season, and he is cool bringing everyone back? Sick! Sweet franchise we have here!

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, there are offseasons when your hands are mostly tied. The Sixers pushed a bunch of chips in last summer, and they were limited this summer because of it. This is not a financial decision like Phillies looking to duck a luxury tax threshold, either. The Sixers just do not have a ton of flexibility to make moves, which is not an uncommon situation in this sport. Morey could swing some deals of course, but they would require moving future first-round picks. Such moves would jeopardize future flexibility in a big way, you have to be careful putting those in play. Ask Mat Isbhia about that.

Basically, there are only so many things you can do with two of the most toxic contracts (at least at the moment) in the sport on your books. Please feel free to criticize Morey for handing out those contracts and the general state of the roster. But sometimes there are offseasons when the only thing you can do is chill.

The Flyers and Sixers provide a nice contrast with each other. Danny Briere’s offseason looks impressive in large part because he had a bunch of bullets to fire. Most importantly, Briere had those bullets because of maneuvering that he made over the last three years. Meanwhile, Morey had little to work with because of his past moves. In related news, the Flyers were rebuilding and the Sixers were trying to win.

Like we did with the Orange and Black, let’s break this thing down step-by-step.

Draft: Two picks were made…

Obviously, way too early to know if Edgecombe is the right pick. That pick will make up 90 percent of this grade when we look back on this offseason down the line, like you would see sometimes with a final exam in college. Hit on your top-five pick, and nobody cares about the second round.

In following Edgecombe after the draft and watching him in two summer league games, I came away cautiously optimistic. I think Edgecombe’s athleticism is gonna translate to the NBA game, where there is better spacing than in college. He still has a ton of work to do to improve, but I am confident he is gonna put the time in.

As for Broome, I am still a little bit skeptical. In my analysis, I mentioned that a backup center ideally needs one major strength. Well, at least in summer league, he is making 3s at a decent level. The pick-and-pop big man is clearly the archetype Broome should be shooting for.

Even if Broome does not hit, there were not many players who were obvious fits for the Sixers at that spot. Other teams paid pretty exorbitant prices to trade up into the first few spots of the second round, to draft the guys I would have picked over Broome. Even if it does not work out, it’s fine.

Free agency: All the moves, and non-moves…

I have written about this before, but the Sixers are particularly weak at the 4. I think they did pretty well with the resources they had on hand, but those resources did not amount to much. Watford is a good player who is skilled with the ball in his hands, but not a great fit on this roster. Walker was a coup of a two-way signing, but he realistically deserved a minimum contract. Broome and Barlow are two more swings at that spot.

Signing Grimes to a contract will be important, especially as a decent mid-tier salary that the Sixers are able to trade. Losing Yabu is a bummer, but the Grimes negotiation hurt the Sixers there. I think they made the right call. Bringing back Kyle Lowry is also a bummer, because Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond already forced your hand.

Truthfully, the biggest wins the Sixers could have this offseason, non-Edgecombe division?

You might laugh at the idea of those things turning out well, and I am not gonna argue with you. But all of that stuff was gonna be important regardless of what moves Morey made. There was no way to move off George and Embiid at this moment, not without attaching a ton of future assets to them.

The tl;dr here: If you are upset, that is totally understandable! Just make sure you blame/criticize the previous offseasons, not this one.

Final grade: C+ (and a B if we are doing the grade inflation thing)

RIP Bryan Braman: Some language in the video below, but I very much enjoyed it.

This was really sad news. Braman, who passed away at 38, was a core special teamer for the Eagles for three years (2014 through 2016). He went elsewhere in 2017, but the Birds re-signed him in December and he played special teams throughout the playoffs. Braman will always be a Super Bowl champion. Just as he tells Najee Goode in the video below, “Forever.”

Braman was apparently battling “a very rare form of cancer,” according to his agent. Rest in peace, Bryan.

Position rankings: Let’s put a bow on the Jeremy Fowler series, which just wrapped up. Here are the Eagles who rank in the Top-10 at their positions…

Good team!

Thinking bullpen: Jim has a new piece for the site, on the Phillies’ second half and the upcoming trade deadline.

Mark your calendars. Mondee and Tuesdee are the official PHLY newsletter MLB Trade Deadline Preview. Feel the excitement!

The August 3rd Phils game at home against Detroit got flexed to Sunday Night Baseball, by the way. Two good teams! Cue the jingle.

Let’s hit the weekend schedule…

Hope we got a good weekend of golf at Portrush, the Round 1 leaderboard definitely has some potential.

Your tentative Friday schedule at ​PHLY​:

And oh yeah, the trivia answers:

Have a great weekend. Let’s make it a good one today.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS