Assessing P.J. Tucker's Potential Impact on 76ers Amid NBA Free-Agency Rumors

The Philadelphia 76ers learned the hard way last season that they did not have enough depth to compete in the Eastern Conference.

General manager Daryl Morey made the splash of the trade deadline by landing James Harden in a swap deal for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, but the move left the secondary pieces on the roster barren.

Philadelphia was unable to get the best out of its depth players in the postseason and that resulted in an exit at the hands of the Miami Heat.

Now, the 76ers could pluck one of the Heat's veteran players away to help with their depth in the 2022-23 NBA season.

Marc Stein reported "numerous rival teams" believe the Sixers and P.J. Tucker are close to agreeing on a three-year, $30 million deal.

Tucker has been a useful roster piece with the Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks recently, but the number attached to his potential contract may scare some Sixers fans because he is 37.

The Texas product averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season on a Miami squad that asked him to take on a larger role at times due to injuries throughout the roster.

He also shot 41.5 percent from three-point range, which is a major increase compared to his career 36.4 percent from deep.

Philadelphia needs someone with Tucker's skill set to help out with its second unit that struggled once Drummond and Curry departed for Brooklyn alongside Simmons.

The combination of DeAndre Jordan, Paul Reed and Paul Millsap failed to make much of an impact, if any, in the minutes Joel Embiid was off the floor. The team also lost some of its impact three-point shooting with Curry off the roster.

Philadelphia made one move to improve its three-point shooting off the bench on draft night, when it acquired De'Anthony Melton from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick.

A Melton-Tucker combination off the bench would significantly improve a second unit that hoped to maximize the potential of Shake Milton, Georges Niang and Furkan Korkmaz in the second half of last season.

All three players can be solid back-end roster pieces who chip in for certain departments, but they can't be the No. 1 or No. 2 options off the bench. Milton, Niang and Korkmaz each failed to record over five points per game in the postseason. Four starters averaged over 16 points per game, and no other players averaged over nine points per contest.

The potential signing of Tucker allows the Sixers to shift Milton, Niang and Korkmaz into lower-pressure roles, and his presence may also help Reed become a consistent NBA rebounder.

The deal would enable the Sixers to be more versatile with their offensive options without Embiid, Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey on the floor.

Tucker can provide a handful of points and rebounds per contest and make opposing defenses think a little more because of his ability to knock down corner threes.

The signing makes sense from a practical standpoint because the Sixers must improve their depth to contend with the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets.

However, the $30 million over three years for a 37-year-old does seem a bit much. The Sixers may be forced to overpay for Tucker because of his demand across the league. A few teams could use a veteran backup big man who can shoot and has NBA Finals experience.

The potential price for Tucker can be justified if he thrives in a reserve role to take some pressure off Embiid and Harden in the regular season and allows them to be effective in another championship hunt.