July 14, 2024
Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports
Could former lottery pick Dennis Smith Jr. (left, defending) help the Sixers solidify their guard depth?
Last week, with the Sixers likely looking at veteran's minimum deals to fill out all but one of their remaining roster spots, I outlined four players who could fit the bill and give the team some sort of utility, even if not in a featured role. Three of those players remain unsigned.
4 free agents the Sixers could sign to veteran's minimum contracts
Now that the team has inked KJ Martin to a two-year, $16 million contract -- a deal that makes the athletic forward a valuable trade asset down the line -- they are limited to minimum contracts for the remainder of the offseason. Assuming the team's plan to sign second-round pick Adem Bona to a standard NBA deal comes to fruition, they will have three open roster spots.
Let's take a look at four more external free agents -- not players who were in Philadelphia last season -- who could play a role for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse in 2024-25.
Smith Jr. was selected No. 9 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, and even at that slot, he was viewed by many as the steal of the draft. Smith boasted a ridiculous athletic profile with the upside of an elite guard scorer, but was quickly overshadowed by Luka Doncic in Dallas and failed to live up to the hype. He was sent to the New York Knicks in the trade that landed the Mavericks Kristaps Porzingis, but once again did not maximize his potential.
Smith was quickly nearing an exit from the NBA due to a shooting that never improved and inefficient, high-volume scoring. But a change in identity revived his career. Smith has combined his supreme athletic gifts with a tenacious mindset and become one of the best guard defenders in the NBA.
DSJ ball-pressure leads to a steal and run-out dunk. Nets up again pic.twitter.com/FK3S7cAi5S
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 5, 2024
Smith, who will turn 27 years old in November, still has significant offensive limitations that will put a ceiling on his role for a contending team. But as a third-string point guard who can change the pace of a game with his athleticism and defense and has fully embraced his capability of being the ultimate disruptor, the Sixers could view him as a fit.
Osman broke in as a critical role player for the final LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team in his rookie season, and became a steady two-way rotation wing for the Cleveland for another half-decade. Osman spent last season with the San Antonio Spurs, where he totaled 72 appearances and logged 17.6 minutes per game -- his lowest figure since that rookie year.
Osman, who is entering his age-29 season in 2024-25, shot a career-best 38.9 percent from beyond the arc last season on 3.1 long-range tries per game, raising his career three-point percentage to 35.7 percent on 4.2 attempts per game. He does not have a ton of scoring juice, but is solid as a spot-up shooter and is also capable of knocking down a three on the move.
Vic block ➡️ Cedi for threeee! pic.twitter.com/fGqV174iA7
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 14, 2023
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Osman is not a remarkable athlete from a mobility standpoint, but his excellent frame makes him more than viable on the defensive end of the floor. Osman is a small forward by trade, but the Sixers need players who can conceivably log minutes at the four in a pinch, and he is absolutely that.
At the end of the 2012-13 season, Holiday -- one of Jrue's NBA brothers -- played the first nine games of his NBA career with the Sixers after signing a 10-day deal with a team that was coached by Doug Collins.
Well over a decade later, here he is, still logging NBA minutes year after year. Holiday spent last season with the Denver Nuggets -- the ninth NBA organization he has appeared in a game for. Holiday averaged 14.9 minutes per game across 58 appearances for the Nuggets and appeared in all of their playoff games, averaging 12.5 minutes per contest.
Sixers free agency primer: Literally everything you need to know
Holiday, who is entering his age-35 season, is not going to drop anyone's jaws with a particular skill or ability, but he is just competent enough at everything that he can handle wing minutes off the bench for a good team.
Holiday is a reliable defensive player -- he is very light, being listed at only 180 pounds, but at 6-foot-6, he has a 7-foot wingspan that enables him to guard across multiple positions on the perimeter. He is absolutely a viable three-point shooter, with a career 36.5 three-point percentage on 4.4 attempts per game. Holiday made just over 40 percent of his long-range tries last season, though the sample size was small.
Third three of the ball game for Justin 🎯 pic.twitter.com/AGEQNjtwPx
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 13, 2024
You can never have enough wing depth, and the Sixers should use at least one remaining roster spot to try to find insurance behind Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin.
Brissett, 26, spent the first year of his career with the Toronto Raptors -- a team coached by Nurse -- before establishing himself as an NBA player in three years with the Indiana Pacers. Brissett spent last season with the Boston Celtics, ultimately winning his first championship. Reports out of Boston indicate that Brissett is likely to sign elsewhere in pursuit of an easier path to consistent minutes -- Brissett logged just 630 total minutes in the regular season for the Celtics, and only twice was used as a genuine rotation piece during the team's journey to a parade.
Brissett appears to be well-liked within any locker room he is part of, and part of the reason might be his motor on the court: Brissett truly gets after it, and his combination of impressive athletic tools and a strong frame -- Brissett is listed at 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan -- enable him to turn that energy into proficiency as a rebounder.
Incredible motor working the offensive glass by Oshae Brissett
— Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) February 14, 2022
Won the Indiana Pacers 3 extra possessions pic.twitter.com/Z6JUbYDNCL
The question with Brissett is what his role can be on the offensive end of the floor. In his first year with the Raptors, he shot 42.3 percent from beyond the arc on 3.7 attempts per game in 21 games, impressing for the Pacers after signing a 10-day contract in April. But his production from three-point range has declined in every year since. His career three-point percentage is 33.7, and he has averaged 2.4 long-range attempts per game during those five NBA seasons.
Brissett can be the kind of force on the glass that the Sixers' current roster sorely lacks. But does he have enough offensive ability to be part of Nurse's rotation on a nightly basis?
Sixers updated 2024-25 roster and depth chart
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