“Look, a lot of guys like a challenge…not me” – James Caan on the Simpsons
That’s my mantra for this Sixers season. We aren’t contenders and we can’t tank. It’s good health, development, and don’t let our emotions get the best of us. Right in the goddamn middle, that’s where they can’t hurt me so that’s where I’m aiming. You can’t go 41-41 without going 1-0 or 0-1 so let’s just hope for a good game and get the 2025-26 season started!
7:30p – TD Garden in Boston, MA
Of course it had to be the Celtics we play first. The best laid plans of mice and men, right? Ok, we can start the not being emotionally invested part of the season in Game 2 against the Hornets, because winning/losing against Boston inherently effects the soul. Embiid being ineffective against a Celtics team with no big men and defense not working against a team without a point guard will really get to me.
Let’s take a quick look at how the Celtics came to have a shell of a team that has been kicking the shit out of us for a decade. It’s easy to say that it all started with the Jayson Tatum injury in the playoffs that will sideline him for most of this season, but that misses the point of NBA finances. This season was always going to be a step back because the team got WAY too expensive. Tatum just gave them easy cover.
Boston needed to make changes because they were staring down the barrel of a $550m team ($250m payroll and $300m tax). The easiest thing to do was move the expiring $30m contract of Kristaps Porzingas. The Atlanta Hawks said how about we give you almost nothing (Georges Niang) and we’ll take him off your hands. The Celtics basically had no choice and even gave a 2nd round pick to Brooklyn in the process. Shedding Porzingas (and subsequently Niang) didn’t just drop $30m in salary, it dropped close to $200m in tax.
The Celtics weren’t done though. That same day as the Porzingas trade, they sent Jrue Holiday to Portland for Anfernee Simons. For this season, that was only a $5m salary and roughly $20m tax difference, but long term Simons is on an expiring deal while Holiday’s contract is going in the opposite direction of his effectiveness.
My favorite move though was the decision to not resign Al Horford. Good fucking riddance and get him the hell out of my life. He signed a $6m contract to play with Golden State and I couldn’t be happier. If you need to know why a 39 year old center leaving a team outside of contention is a big deal, please read this.
All in all, Boston lowered their payroll to around $200m and their tax bill to around $40m. Of course, that means they are all out of big men and all out of true point guards. They are still going to bomb away from 3 though, that part’s not going anywhere.
March to the Middle: 0 – 0
Joel Embiid Games Played: 0 of 0
Paul George Games Played: 0 of 0
I will come up with more bullshit stat keeping as the year goes on.
All contract numbers courtesy of Spotrac.com
Philly Front Office 
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