NBA season preview: 5 big questions for Philadelphia 76ers

3. What moves can they make midseason?

If this is the final roster minus Ben Simmons, is this a championship roster? They have a star in Joel Embiid but look at the rest of the starting lineup. Maxey, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, and Danny Green are the likely starters. That seems underwhelming.

Embiid would need to have an MVP-level season again in order to get one of the top three spots in the Eastern Conference, and they would still need something more to make noise in the playoffs. We’ve seen from the Milwaukee Bucks that teams need more than just their star to win a title. They never had a chance until they got Jrue Holiday on the roster. It’s too easy for the best teams to erase one player when that player is the sole contributor.

There aren’t as many disgruntled stars as there were in years past. Simmons is by far the most important player on the trade block. Bradley Beal seems fine staying in Washington. Maybe the Sixers go for a young future star like Tyler Herro or Collin Sexton, but they will both cost a lot. There are other “stars” who seem cooked but could be revitalized like Kevin Love or Myles Turner.

There are options on the table, but they would need something huge to get them back into real title conversations. Maybe Buddy Hield is the right player to target since he has shown a desire to leave Sacramento, but what does adding Hield do for the Sixers? Does that put them in the conversation with the Bucks, Lakers, and Warriors?