Philadelphia 76ers: Kendrick Perkins wants a better bench

What should the Philadelphia 76ers do this offseason?

Should they pursue another star in free agency after rapidly shedding contracts? Or how about pursuing an impending free agent via a sign-and-trade? Or should Daryl Morey simply focus on his roster, key in on his stars, and build out the roster with complete players?

Needless to say, the options are limitless… okay, maybe not limitless limitless, but expansive to be sure, and seemingly everyone has an opinion on the subject, from hardcore Zach LaVine stans to folks who want to blow it all up and go for #TheProcess2.0.

But, you probably weren’t wondering but are certainly interested in now, what does Joel Embiid’s biggest – literally – cheerleader on the national stage, Kendrick Perkins, think the Philadelphia 76ers should do? Should they go star hunting once more, or focus on addressing the depth issues that consistently gave his former coach, Doc Rivers, fits last season?

Buckle up friends, this is going to be fun.

Big Perk wants to see a deeper Philadelphia 76ers bench this fall.

So, without further ado, let’s see what Kendrick Perkins had to say when called upon by John Sobolsky to give his take on the Philadelphia 76ers’ offseason directive.

They need to add pieces to their bench. Man, shout out to Big Perk for not only giving a straight answer but for engaging with a brand new Twitter account with just eight followers. Super cool stuff.

On paper, Perkins’ philosophy appears to be a popular one among a good segment of the Sixers’ fanbase. Sure, landing another star would be cool, especially if the team could flip Tobias Harris and not much else to get it done, but that’s way easier said than done. Outside of dealing for a player like Julius Randle, Gordon Hayward, or *shivers* Russell Westbrook/John Wall, there really isn’t a market for Harris’ services outright, and to execute the sort of salary dump needed to pursue an unrestricted free agent, the Sixers would probably have to attach the vast majority of their remaining assets to make it happen.

By contrast, the Sixers have a number of movable pieces like Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz – read about him here – and, when his contract becomes guaranteed, Danny Green, who could bring back better fitting pieces capable of complementing the core of Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and Joel Embiid. Factor in the MLE, a $1.67 million trade exception, and the 23rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, which the Sixers could use on a player like E.J. Liddell if the Brooklyn Nets don’t take it, and there’s a very real path to a for logical roster… assuming Doc Rivers actually plays his young players in their best possible role.

Kendrick Perk knows ball. He knows that very few teams can successfully field a roster with four All-Star caliber players, especially when they all like to operate with the ball, and that role players like, well, like himself back in the day are key to achieving success in the NBA regardless of era. Unless a perfect player like, say, OG Anunoby becomes available in the Philadelphia 76ers’ price range, it might just be better, not to mention way simpler, to focus on upgrading roster spots five through eight instead of taking a nine-figure swing at an upgraded third option who could create 2019-20 Al Horford-level fit issues.