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Could Elfrid Payton be a Fit in Sixers Offense?

By Josh Wilson

Dec 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Amway Center.Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Amway Center.Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 109-90. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers may be open to making a trade, and are subject to a world of NBA rumors. Could Elfrid Payton fit in their offense?

With the NBA season beginning to heat up, a world of NBA trade rumors are likely about to begin. More and more options around the NBA are now trade-able because players who signed contracts this offseason have just recently become eligible to be moved.

The Philadelphia 76ers have not said that they won’t look for new point guards in the trade market (in fact, Brett Brown said that “everything is on the table” in regards to trading for a point guard), and will almost certainly be active moving forward because they need to move either Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor (or both) in order to be most effective.

They would be smart to move one of the two before rookie and top overall pick Ben Simmons makes his debut, because his style of play and need for minutes will make things even more difficult for head coach Brett Brown.

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The Sixers shouldn’t have needed another guard, and might not need a new guard if they maneuver things correctly. But their would-have-been starting point guard that they signed this offseason in Jerryd Bayless recently underwent wrist surgery, and will miss the entire season because of it.

There are teams around the league looking to move point guards. The Orlando Magic may be one of them.

Now, there has been no explicit rumor regarding Elfrid Payton, but there have been some implicit ones. Brian Windhorst went on Zach Lowe’s The Lowe Post podcast and said that the Magic were, “down on,” Payton. 

Windhorst also said that center Nikola Vucevic is on the trading block, which means the Sixers would not be able to move a center directly in this deal, because part of the Magic’s issue is needing to move a big (just like the Sixers). A third team would need to be involved if the Sixers really wanted Payton and also wanted to move one of their big men in the process.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic need to see more consistency from Payton. Robbins also predicted that the Magic, if they were looking to trade, would probably be looking for an upgrade to their scoring in the backcourt.

Payton needs the ball in his hands, which is something the Sixers would have to limit if he would play alongside Simmons, which is the biggest thing on the Sixers shopping list if they’re looking for a guard. They need a combo guard that can work well off of the ball and shoot from beyond the arc.

Payton, although seeming to improve in some of those areas, has not proven to be great by any means beyond the arc, sinking just under 26 percent of his shots from deep this season.

The environment with the Magic is interesting, though, and proves to catalyze a lot of pressure for everyone involved. Strange offseason moves — like signing way too many big men to their team — have left the team with a roster that doesn’t quite work, and have left players like Payton paying for it. Perhaps he could do better in a more relaxed environment that isn’t looking to see immediate wins like Philadelphia.

Payton is a decent passer, and put alongside Simmons, could potentially make the Sixers a pass-heavy team that finds the best possible shot at any given point.

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As far as the positives he could potentially bring, it was best put by Phillip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily:

"On top of that, Payton is 14th in the league in secondary assists with 1.4 secondary assists per game. A secondary assist, sometimes referred to as a “hockey assist,” is a pass that leads to an assist. He is 19th in the league in potential assists with 12.1 potential assists per game. Essentially the Magic convert on about half the shots they take that would be assists for Payton.Payton is 24th in the league in assist points created with 13.2 points per game. Right behind Stephen Curry.And Payton does this all off the bench, playing fewer than 30 minutes per game. No one is consistently ranked this high in the entire league in all three categories playing such few minutes."

Payton may not be looked at as elite right now, but maybe the Sixers can pull it out of him. Sometimes it just takes the right team.

With Payton never having played a season where he played more than 16 percent at the shooting guard position, however, he might not fit well next to Simmons, and that’s a huge issue for the Sixers. It’s a rarity to find a Payton highlight that doesn’t involve him taking over with the ball in his hands, something we want to see Simmons do, not the guard next to him.

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While a Payton deal may be available for the Sixers if they can pull a third team in in order to move one of their big men as well (and also provide a point guard in the trade that can score more for the Magic) it’s not a deal they should necessarily go too insane trying to pursue. Payton is a point guard that seems best suited for the second unit right now in his career as a player that needs the ball in his hands and still does not score a lot.