The Philadelphia 76ers must be sitting back laughing at the respective fortunes of their offseason compared to the Golden State Warriors, with both teams inextricably linked this summer over a series of trade and free agency moves.
That extended to the Warriors' latest unofficial roster move on Monday. Golden State have yet to officially sign Dalen Terry to a contract, but his appearance sitting next to Stephen Curry at a Valkyries game on Monday night all but confirms the former 76ers wing will be part of the training camp roster at the very least.
76ers get last laugh over Warriors' unofficial Dalen Terry move
After waiving Terry last month, the Philadelphia front office and his teammates would be happy that he's seemingly got another opportunity elsewhere. They clearly liked him enough to convert his initial two-way contract in February to a two-year contract, before picking up the team option on the first year prior to free agency.
But even they would have to sit back comfortbably and aknowledge the irony of Terry heading to the Warriors, further elevating the contrast between the two sides that all started with Jaylen Brown's trade from the Boston Celtics at the start of last month.
Golden State had conversations with Boston over a Brown trade, only they weren't willing to meet the steep asking price before Philadelphia landed the former Finals MVP for what many viewed as an incredibly low cost of Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
That set in motion the 76ers' ability to lure LeBron James three weeks later, with the superstar forward rejecting the Warriors again after years of interest. James' move was followed by the signing of veteran wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, leaving Philadelphia needing to waive Terry in order to create the roster space.
Warriors can't escape sequence of events that lands them Dalen Terry
The chain of events that's ended with this Terry move is one that Warrior fans won't ignore, and only serves to paint an even clearer picture of their underwhelming offseason. Brown and James are two of the best handful of forwards in the league, while Terry holds averages of just 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists across his four-year career.
There's a chance Golden State do truly benefit from this. Perhaps Terry wins a main roster spot and develops into a long-term player, giving the Warriors a genuine silver lining from James spurning them again.
But for the moment it's a brutal outcome for the Warriors, particularly when their former general manager, Bob Myers, was also a significant part of the 76ers pulling off these league-altering moves.
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