The Philadelphia strengthened both their offense and defense, adding veteran P.J. Tucker on a three-year, fully-guaranteed $33.2 million deal at the start of free agency.

The new signee follows a pattern of moves by Daryl Morey to overhaul Philadelphia’s roster around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and James Harden. Morey landed two of Harden's former Houston teammates, Tucker and Danuel House, both are solid hree-and-D players.

Getting Tucker was key, as he replaces Danny Green, who the team sent to Memphis in the biggest move of the offseason, when they added De'Anthony Melton.

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But the addition of Tucker solidifies the three-and-D need the Sixers have on the wing and adds toughness, shooting and defense.

Tucker has been a great shooter from the corner over the last five seasons, leading the NBA in corner 3-point field-goals made (390). He and Harden already have a solid connection from their time together in Houston. In roughly four seasons as Harden’s teammate, Tucker made 112 three-pointers off a Harden assist.

Tucker averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season in 71 games, playing about 27.9 minutes a night. His was an efficient shooter last season, hitting 41.5% from deep, but he’s a career 33.6% shooter, but should get plenty of good looks with Harden dishing and Joel Embiid generating plenty of attention. 

On defense, Tucker is one of the best when defending close to the ball, holding opponents to 41.2% shooting from the field when he was the closest defender last season. Among 148 players that defended at least 600 shots, that was the 4th-lowest mark in the NBA according to Second Spectrum.

Tucker is an upgrade over Danny Green and he could be relied upon for even more toughness and defense then Green provided.

With Tucker, House and Melton the Sixers have added three key pieces to their roster with Tucker maybe the most perfect fit.

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