GM Bryan Colangelo acknowledged that the Sixers need to figure out their big man situation in order to have a more balanced roster, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes. Colangelo added that collecting shooters to place around Ben Simmons on the floor is a priority as well.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Simmons is making the Sixers‘ tanking efforts pay off, Mannix writes in the same piece. “I hated what they did,” a Western Conference GM told Mannix. “But you can’t deny what they have.” The 19-year-old displayed excellent passing and ball handling skills during Summer League and coach Brett Brown told Mannix that he expects Simmons to spend much of the upcoming season as a point guard.
- The Sixers plan to make fundamental changes to Simmons’ jump shot akin to how the Spurs help Kawhi Leonard change his release after he was drafted by the team, Mannix adds in that same piece.
- Kevin Durant said it was his call not to meet with the Knicks even though he held his free agency meetings in the Hamptons, Marc Berman of The New York Post passes along. “Everything was my call,’’ Durant said. “The whole process was my call. I respect everybody in this league and every organization. But I couldn’t meet with everybody.”
- There was speculation that Carmelo Anthony would have asked for trade if the Knicks struck out in free agency, but after the team made major moves this offseason, Anthony appears happy with New York, Berman writes in a separate piece. The Knicks traded for Derrick Rose and they signed Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings to form a team that should easily compete for a playoff birth.