The Sixers took on the Miami Heat in their 2014-15 home opener. Unlike last year's home opener when Michael Carter-Williams and company surprised the entire league by defeating the then reigning NBA Champion Heat, this year's Sixers could not pull an upset. A turnover plagued performance led Philadelphia to their third straight loss, 114-96. 

Philadelphia completed a second blockbuster deal on Tuesday, receiving center Hasheem Thabeet from Oklahoma City, first reported by Marc Stein. Ok, so maybe not on par with the mega-deal that was completed over the weekend that sent Kevin Love to Cleveland and Thad Young to Minnesota among others.  It is reported that the Sixers will immediately waive the former #2 overall pick's non guaranteed contract. Thabeet has averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 boards over his disappointing, five year career with 4 different teams.  

So what do the teams actually get out of this trade? It's all about the money. While the Sixers receive cash considerations, the trade creates a $1.25 million trade exception for the Thunder. In the end, no players are being exchanged. 

By: Matt Ryan

The 76ers will reportedly be a part of the Love/Wiggins deal between the Cavaliers and Timberwolves, sending Thad Young to Minnesota in return for Anthony Bennett, the #1 pick in the 2013 draft, and a future first round pick. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Cleveland and Minnesota have a handshake deal in place, as Wiggins can not be traded within 30-days of being signed. The trade cannot become official until August 23, which has left the smaller details of the trade a little hazy. 

The Sixers opened play in the Orlando summer league over the weekend, facing the Magic on Saturday and the Thunder on Sunday. Nerlens Noel led Philadelphia in a loss against Orlando in his Summer League debut, but would sit(rest) as Philly notched a victory against OKC. Noel, Ronald Roberts Jr., and Casper Ware showed promise in the opening two games but unfortunately PG Pierre Jackson would go down with a ruptured achilles to dampen the excitement a bit. 

The 76ers announced their invitees to their mini-camp with a chance to make their Orlando Summer League roster. The roster is headed by Nerlens Noel, the 6th overall pick in 2013's draft, and also includes Hollis Thompson, Jerami Grant, one of the Sixers' 2014 2nd round picks, and a handful of undrafted rookies. The Orlando Pro Summer League will take place from July 5-11.  

In other news, Philadelphia waived James Anderson yesterday, before his contract became fully guaranteed on July 1st.  

"Be patient" was Sam Hinkie's message in the 2014 draft. With the third pick in the 2014 draft, the 76ers selected Joel Embiid from Kansas. The 7-footer from Cameroon emerged as the top prospect within the last few months until a stress fracture was discovered in his foot last week that required surgery. Falling to #3, the Sixers will made a steal if he can stay healthy. Embiid's freshman season at Kansas ended early with a back injury (why do the Sixers love injured big men?). Only beginning to play basketball in 2011, NBA scouts have been blown away with the progress he has made just within the last year. Embiid is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the year and has a nice offensive game, with a back to the basket game as well as a good jumpshot for a player of his size. Joel will be a legitimate center with his size and strength. Embiid averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in 23 minutes in 28 games with Kansas. The #3 pick will miss part if not all of the upcoming season recovering from surgery. 

The Sixers made a little bit of a surprise pick with PG Elfrid Payton from UL Lafayette. The pick was a bit surprising when the Sixers already have a point guard without a jump shot, but it became clearer when word emerged that Philly had traded Payton to Orlando for Dario Saric at #12. A future first round (originally Philly's from Bynum trade) and second round pick were also involved. The Croatian power forward just signed a deal earlier this week with Anadolu Efes, a Turkish team, which guarantees he will remain in Europe until at least 2016. The 6'10'' 20-year-old isn't a flashy athlete, but has a high basketball IQ, great vision and passing skills, and is a threat in the post. Saric was the Croatian League MVP in 2013 and the Adriatic League MVP in 2014. 

A report from ESPN's Ryen Russillo surfaced this weekend involving rumored trade talks between the 76ers and the LA Lakers. Russillo's twitter account reported that the talks include Philly shipping Michael Carter Williams, the reigning rookie of the year, and Thaddeus Young to Los Angeles for the 7th pick in the 2014 and Steve Nash. 

The 76ers will select third and tenth in the 2014 NBA draft. Much like last year's, this draft will play a vital part in Philadelphia's rebuilding process and 2 top ten picks will certainly help. Cleveland will select first overall, for the third time in four years, and Milwaukee will choose second. 

For their final game of the 2013-2014 season, the 76ers visited the Miami Heat. With both Bosh and LeBron sitting, the Sixers held the lead from the end of the first quarter until the final buzzer, winning 100-87. Philadelphia ended the season the way they started it, with a win over the Heat (which sounds nice if you ignore the 63 losses in between). 

The Sixers welcomed their division-rival Celtics to Philadelphia Monday night, after falling to both the Grizzlies and Bobcats over the weekend. A decisive 2nd quarter would put the Sixers ahead for good, although Philly gave their fans a scare with a sloppy 3rd quarter and final minutes of the 4th as they almost gave the game away. The 113-108 would snap a 4 game slide for the Sixers.