Philadelphia 76ers: It looks like the Mike Scott-era is over

Whenever an NBA season ends, there will inevitably be changes.

Players will retire, free agents will leave for greener pastures, and, in particularly bad years, coaches, GMs, and disgruntled stars will be forced out of town in favor of another bite at the roster-building racket.

Does it stink? Sure. Fans have a tendency to inflate the value of role players to the point where even losing an 11th man can feel borderline devastating, but in the modern-day NBA, those changes are to be expected. No team brings back 100 percent of their players year-in and year-out and the Association has literally built exceptions into its bylaws so that clubs can exceed the cap in order to guarantee that veteran players can latch onto championship-caliber teams for more than a veteran minimum contract.

So, to paraphrase the great Vitamin C, “as we go on, we remember, all the times we, were together. And as the Philadelphia 76ers move on to whomever, Mike Scott will fill be, a fan favorite forever.”

It’s never easy to say goodbye, Philadelphia 76ers fans.

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In 2020-21, Mike Scott was an objectively not great basketball player.

Despite earning 12 starts in 51 appearances, Scott averaged the second-fewest points per game of his career in roughly 16.7 minutes of action a night and effectively worked his way out of the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation due to an inability to hit 3 points and a less-than-ideal string of performances on the defensive end of the court.

Scott was ineffective as a spot-starting center in place of Joel Embiid, struggled to find his footing playing alongside Tobias Harris in a two-forward look, and largely failed to live up to the two-year, $9.80 million contract Elton Brand signed him to in the summer of 2019.

Say what you will about “the shot,” Ben Simmons’ free throws, or Tobias Harris’ lack of aggression in fourth quarters of games, but one could make a compelling case that Mike Scott being unplayable in the Second Round series against Atlanta was one of the major reasons why the Sixers were unable to overcome the Hawks, as they simply didn’t have a viable reserve big who could come in and knock down shots from beyond the arc.

Theoretically, there are a slew of potential free agent additions the Sixers could go out and sign to fill Scott’s shoes, players like Doug McDermott, Daniel Theis, and Bobby Portis who can, ya know, actually earn playoff minutes, but tell me, will any of those players be able to capture the hearts of fans in the Delaware Valley to the same degree?

Between you and me, I think that’ll be very hard.

From almost immediately after joining the Sixers as part of the franchise-altering Tobias Harris trade, Scott formed a bond with fans in the City of Brotherly Love the likes of which are exceedingly rare. He delivered wonderfully NSFW anecdotes that I don’t dare to relay, hosted fan events for his unofficial “Hive” fan club, and even got into a literal street brawl with Philadelphia Eagles fans, you know, like true Philadelphians do.

While pretty much no one expected number 1 to be back with the Sixers in 2021-22, unless, of course, he was willing to take a veteran minimum contract maybe, Scott effectively sealed the deal with a Philadelphia-themed photo dump on his Instagram.

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A post shared by Mike Scott (@mikescottva)

Now sure, technically Scott never actually indicated that his time with the team is over in any formal way, but when you see his teammates effectively wishing him well, it feels like only a matter of time before things are made official – well, aren’t made official, as teams don’t typically announce that they aren’t re-signing an impending free agent.

Next. The flaw in a Ben Simmons “Godfather” trade offer. dark

So Mike Scott, thank you for everything you’ve done both on and off the court for the Philadelphia 76ers over the past few seasons. While things certainly didn’t end the way many envisioned when you signed a two-year extension with the team back in 2019, fans around these parts won’t soon forget your generosity off the court and your efforts on it. Good luck on your next team, wherever that may be.