The point guard position for the Philadelphia 76ers is, at this point, largely uncertain. A multitude of names have been brought up, including Tony Wroten, newly signed Scottie Wilbekin, and Ish Smith, who isn’t even a member of the team at this time.
It’s safe to say this uncertainty has brought about a large amount of speculation regarding the team not being done looking at other options for this position within free agency and trading with other teams. Personally, I think they’re going with one of the above listed names, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was brought into the mix.
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I think a lot of this speculation is simply the typical offseason talk. We as true fanatics can never stop talking about the teams we love. I can’t tell you how many times I start talking about basketball, and people say, “wait, isn’t it the offseason?” They simply don’t get it. We have to find things to talk about, and a lot of the times, we speculate and pull things out of thin air. That’s perfectly okay.
Among this speculation, and recent reports that the Miami Heat are looking to get rid of Mario Chalmers‘ salary, Sixer fans have been looking at the possibility that Chalmers could fit in the barren starting point guard spot.
Yet rumbles persist that Miami continues to search for a trade partner that will take on Mario Chalmers' salary to further reduce tax bill
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 27, 2015
I’m going to start off by saying I don’t believe the Sixers will even pursue this. Despite the fact that it’s incredibly unclear who’s starting, they have a bunch of options, and I don’t think it’s necessary to bring Chalmers in now that they’ve signed Wilbekin and are possibly looking into bringing Ish back.
Also, Chalmers, a player with seven years of experience, doesn’t fit the theme of youth with the Sixers. Just saying.
Chalmers started in nearly half of the games for the Miami Heat last year, but didn’t really get a significant amount done despite playing nearly 30 minutes per game. 3.8 assists and just over 10 points per game doesn’t really scream “veteran experience,” like some other point guards do. Sure, he’s got the playoff experience and has played in the finals, but let’s be real. He rode on the coat tails of a star studded Heat team that featured the world’s best basketball player, LeBron James.
Chalmers hasn’t truly slid into a leader role since his days back as a Kansas Jayhawk, when he hit a huge shot that kept the Jayhawks alive, sending the game to overtime.
He has yet to show any major qualities that prove he can be a leader either. The only thing I can imagine is that he would flourish on a team like the Sixers, simply because of their desperation for someone to step up. A young team that’s looking for some guidance, Chalmers could be that player who has experience, and is able to guide them through some learning times.
Similar to the Charlotte Hornets bringing in Mo Williams last year during the season, I think that’s how Chalmers would end up reacting if he was brought to Philly. Williams didn’t put up great numbers in Minnesota before he was traded, but when he was put on a young squad aching for a hero (Kemba Walker was out with injury), he was able to step up and average over 17 points and exactly 6 assists per game, throughout the year, even once Walker came back.
Still, I have trouble seeing Chalmers easily stepping into a role like this, after being simply a role player his whole career.
His shooting isn’t fantastic. He sports above 40% from the field, but shot at less than 30% from the three point line last year, something that alarms me. It’s especially alarming since the majority of his shots attempted last season were the from the three point line.
All in all, Chalmers is a decent player, but obviously not one to romanticize over. The Heat wouldn’t be looking to dump his salary if he wasn’t replaceable.
Chalmers doesn’t provide much risk to get, so I wouldn’t mind if the Sixers picked him up, but I truly don’t see anything he offers that plenty of the guards currently on their roster wouldn’t offer either. His leadership experience has appeared to be a “peaked in college,” and he’s simply become too much money for other teams. There’s no need to have him as a Sixer. Sorry, Mario, no Mario Bros. pasta from David Martin for you.