Kent Bazemore would excel with the Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers should be looking to add tough, versatile pieces to their rotation, and Kent Bazemore checks every box.

As someone who lives in the Atlanta area, I’ve had the pleasure of watching Kent Bazemore grow with the Atlanta Hawks over the course of the couple of seasons.

In the wake of the DeMarre Carroll‘s departure last year, the 26-year-old swingman stepped up with an excellent campaign in 2015-2016, setting himself up for a bountiful new contract and a myriad of suitors in this upcoming free agency period- and I think the Philadelphia 76ers should put themselves in the forefront of that discussion. The Sixers aren’t overly deep at any one spot on the perimeter in terms of long term outlook. While the team had grabbed two high quality wings on draft night in the form of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Furkan Korkmaz, the two-way versatility and toughness Bazemore provides is something that Colangelo and company should be striving to put into a Philly uniform.

As the Hawks’ starting three in replacement of Carroll, Bazemore showcased his talents as not only their best perimeter defender, but as a legitimate offensive contributor who is capable of stepping up in a fairly big way on any given night. He’s by no means masterful in terms of creating his own offense, but he’s an explosive cutter to the basket and someone who could work extremely well as a spot-up shooter working off of the newly added Ben Simmons.

Bazemore’s aggressiveness on offense comes with a nice blend of intelligence as well, something that really made him stand out in a Hawks offense that was centered around team play and a spaced out rotation. He’s a skilled passer at either wing position and is someone that Brett Brown could certainly utilize as a secondary or tertiary playmaker on the outside when called upon. He understands how to fit within the flow of the game and work himself into the offense in a manner that benefits the team. He’s not afraid to look for his own offense, but never does so to the detriment of the unit as a whole and produces in an unselfish manner that can aid in a plethora of ways on the offensive side of the basketball.

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With all that said, it’s Bazemore’s attitude that really seems like it’d be a seamless fit with the culture Brett Brown has attempted to establish over the past few years. This is a team that has solely won games off of grit and willpower these past couple of seasons, and Bazemore brings not shortage of energy on a nightly basis. When you watch Hawks games, it’s fairly easy to see that Bazemore is one of, if not the hardest working players on the court, and his outright desire to win games is something that has consistently impressed me during his tenure with Atlanta.

That grinding style of play and willingness to put his body on the line for the betterment of the team truly highlights his defensive effectiveness as well. On a team that is bound to have some highly versatile defenders already with Simmons, Noel, and Luwawu, among others, adding a skilled perimeter defender who can guard any position on the outside is solely a bonus.

He has more experience already than the vast majority of the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster overall in terms of defending at the NBA level, and is an exceptionally smart player in terms of getting into passing lanes and knocking the ball loose from unsuspecting offensive players. He hustles in every aspect of the game, especially on defense, and simply works to create as many opportunities for his team as is possible.

Bazemore is, in many ways, the epitome of what the Sixers should be looking for this offseason. Rather than overpaying for an offensive boost that will likely fail to live up to expectations, such as a Harrison Barnes, they should be looking for quality characters to help rebuild a winning culture in their locker room and begin giving the younger players on the team someone to look up to as a legitimized leadership figure.

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Bazemore helps them space the floor more, while offering a flexible defensive cornerstone for Brett Brown to implement into the rotation long term and the type of person, in general, that truly bodes well for what Philadelphia is trying to pull off under the Colangelos. He’s likely cheaper than Harrison Barnes and is a much more stable option in every fashion than Dion Waiters. The fact that Baze’s name hasn’t been linked to Philly more is something that ought to change as soon as possible.

The logistics of signing Bazemore is the tricky part. In the wake of the NBA salary cap exploding, Bazemore will command a max deal somewhere. If the Atlanta Hawks are intent on retaining his services, they can merely outbid everyone and exercise the Bird exception. If the Philadelphia 76ers line up in free agency, the cost of doing so will make the weak-hearted faint.