The Sixer Sense
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The Sixers Future at the Point Guard Position

By Jonathan Kelly

Mar 20, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net as Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier (12) defends during the second quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (12) drives toward the net as Boston Celtics guard Terry Rozier (12) defends during the second quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers need to figure out who the starting point guard will be for them in 2016-17.

The Sixers guard situation is a big question mark coming into this season. They recently acquired veteran point guard Jerryd Bayless and inked him to a three-year $27 million dollar contract.

But do we really expect Bayless to be the long term answer at the point guard position for the Sixers?

Bayless has bounced around the league in his eight seasons in the NBA. He spent most of last season with the Milwaukee Bucks but only managed mediocre numbers at best, putting up 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. That being said, Bayless does bring experience and leadership to a very young and inexperienced locker room.

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Ideally, the Sixers would like to deal either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor for a shooting guard or possibly package them together. This would allow them to roll out Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid in the frontcourt with Robert Covington at small forward. The backcourt could be Sergio Rodriguez or Jerryd Bayless paired with whoever the Sixers acquire by trading one of their big men.

But are we just going to disregard T.J. McConnell?

After not being selected in the 2015 NBA draft, McConnell signed a multi-year contract offer with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he was still a long shot to make the final roster. Not only did he make that final roster but he proved to be a key asset to the organization and ended up starting 17 regular season games.

T.J. McConnell (4.5) was second to only Denver Nuggets point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay (5.5) in assists per game by qualified rookies last season. McConnell’s assistant to turnover ratio was better, though. Additionally, he finished the season with the highest field goal percentage among qualified rookie point guards. 

If you include rookie shooting guards in that same category, he finished second to Spurs Jonathon Simmons who had a much smaller sample size. That’s right, he finished the season with a higher field goal percentage than Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker and even New York Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis.

To put that in perspective, Jerryd Bayless’ career highs in assists per game, steals per game and field goal percentage never reached the numbers that McConnell put up during his rookie season.

McConnell also averaged 1.2 steals per game last season even with his average of less than 20 minutes per game. According to basketball-reference.com, his per 36 minutes stats indicate that he would average 2.1 steals per game if he were to get a full workload of 36 minutes per game. That would be good enough for third overall in the NBA last season, right behind Steph Curry and Ricky Rubio.

So what could T.J. McConnell do for the Sixers if given the chance at a full workload? Well, for starters, he made NBA history as a rookie last season. He became the first NBA player ever to have at least 12 assists in two of his first four NBA games. He also nearly dropped a triple double in his first NBA start against the Milwaukee Bucks when he finished with seven points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.

The coaching staff has shown faith in McConnell by giving Tony Wroten his walking papers last season. They also didn’t exactly fight to keep Ish Smith around when free agency hit.

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So could it be that the Sixers are finally going to give McConnell a real shot at being the starting point guard? Only time will tell, but T.J. McConnell has proved that he has earned that shot at the very least.