Philadelphia 76ers: With James gone, is Jabari Parker worth the risk?

So, should the Philadelphia 76ers offer Parker a contract?

Why not?

I mean at this point, is there a better player on the market with more upsides than Jabari Parker?

Sure, the Philadelphia 76ers could go the safe route and fill out their roster spots with a veteran shooter like Jamal Crawford or Wayne Ellington (a pair of shooters we have profiled here and here) but do either of those players have All-Star potential? Could either of those players average 20 points a night coming off the bench?

Doubtful.

Though Parker is still developing as a three-point shooter, and needs to commit himself to giving max defensive effort night after night, his experience playing a flexible role alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, when coupled with an offseason removed from his most recent ACL injury could give Philly the steal of free agency, with the potential to get even better as he continues to develop a more well-rounded game.

While some fans, and possibly the Philly coaching staff, are still holding out hope for a Kawhi Leonard trade, if that fails to materialize, Parker could be a pretty amazing consolation prize and one that wouldn’t require the team trade away half of their assets to acquire. Even if it means skirting the tax-line to secure the deal.

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At this point, a one-year, $15 million offer sheet could probably score Philly the 23-year-old forward, as it would be virtually impossible for Milwaukee to match the offer sheet without making their own trades, or going over the tax line.

Who says no to that?

Though things have now gotten a bit more difficult after trading minimal cap space to the Denver Nuggets for swing forward Wilton Chandler, a decade older Parker clone, and bringing Amir Johnson back on a one-year, $2 million deal, Philly still has roughly $23 million to play with before reaching the $123 million tax line. After flying significantly under the tax line for over half a decade now, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to imagine the team’s ownership group giving Brown the ok to up his rosters payroll in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

And the best part? Embiid and Parker are already tight off the court.

After going through the pre-draft process together, and facing off against one another back in college, Parker and Embiid were looked at as a pair of potential franchise cornerstones back in 2014, but who could have imagined the duo actually playing on the same team four years later?

Though signing the oft-injured forward doesn’t come without risk, if the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in adding a young, immensely talented combo forward with All-Star potential who could potentially become a fixture of the team for years to come the choice is clear: Jabari Parker is worth the risk.

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Even if it’s only on a one year deal, taking Parker out of the spotlight and allowing the 23-year-old to hone his game on the 76ers second unit could be the best possible situation for both parties going into the 2018-2019 NBA season.