Despite having offers from several NBA teams, forward James Ennis decided to stay with Philadelphia 76ers this summer and sign a two-year $4.1 million deal with the team. It turns out that Ennis could have made more money elsewhere, but decided to prioritize winning.
While talking with reporters during NBA Summer League, Ennis said that he believes 76ers are a good team and that they have an easy path to the Finals.
“Because it’s a good team, and a good chance of winning,” – said Ennis. “The East is going to be wide open. We had a good chance last year. Kawhi is gone. He went to the West. So we are going to walk to the Finals in the East.”
Although Ennis’ prediction looks bold considering we are still far from the start of the new NBA Season, he might be right. The 76ers managed to retain free-agent Tobias Harris this summer while also brining in Al Horford and Josh Richardson. Combine them with All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and you get one of the strongest starting five in the whole of NBA.
The only thing that could stop Philly from meeting James Ennis’ expectation is their roster depth. Despite a strong starting line-up, the 76ers have a weak bench which could end up hurting them in the playoffs. This is why it was important for the team to secure that Ennis’ returns as he showed potential to be a key role player in this year’s playoffs.
Ennis played 11 games in the postseason with Philadelphia and managed to average 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
