Indiana Pacers conference opponent offseason check-in: Philadelphia 76ers

No team in the NBA had an offseason as splashy as the Philadelphia 76ers.

Philly, a team that the Indiana Pacers struggled to take down prior to this past season, managed their resources incredibly well. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey entered the summer in a unique spot, rosterting two All-Stars and holding a ton of cap space, and he left the summer with a dramatically improved roster.

From last year’s team, the Sixers only have six holdovers: Joel Embiid, KJ Martin, Kyle Lowry, Jeff Dowtin, Tyrese Maxey, and Kelly Oubre. The rest of the roster has landed elsewhere because their contract expired, they were traded, or they were waived in the name of generating more cap space.

It’s rare that a good team has enough cap room to bring in a major talent, but that’s what Philadelphia did — they were able to sign star forward Paul George to a four-year, maximum value contract in the offseason. George, a former Pacer, was by far the best player to change teams this summer, and that instantly rocketed the 76ers up a tier or two in the East.

Then, through a combination of salary cap exceptions and clever moves, Morey added Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson, Caleb Martin, and Guerschon Yabusele. The franchise also drafted Jared McCain and Adem Bona. They have a totally new feel, yet all of their additions have a chance to be impactful.

Many have graded Philly as a big winner of the summer because of all their moves. They lost several good players to make all this happen — Nic Batum, Robert Covington, Mo Bamba, Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, Cam Payne, and Paul Reed all have new homes. That list of players alone is a decent roster. But to get George and additional talent around him is a home run even when considering those departures.

The 76ers now have perhaps the best big three in the current NBA. George, Maxey, and Embiid are all incredibly talented, and they should fit well together. Embiid and Maxey already were a good pairing — now George’s defense, shooting, and overall skill will be added to that mix.

Some combination of Oubre, Martin, Gordon, and Lowry should round out a rock solid starting five. That group will be tough to topple. The Sixers kryptonite in past seasons was the minutes without Embiid on the floor, but being able to toss out Jackson, Yabusele, Drummond, McCain, and others in those moments will make for a dangerous team.

Indiana went 2-1 against Philadelphia last season. Every game was incredibly high scoring, and they likely will be again in the coming season. Both teams have a ton of firepower.

Philadelphia added more. They should be a top team in the Eastern Conference, and the Pacers will have to be at their best to take down the 76ers. Last year, the two franchises won the same number of games. The margins between them were thin. Indiana will have to grow internally to keep up with a splashy summer in the City of Brotherly Love.