Should The Sixers Wait For Trade Deadline For Point Guard?

In my eyes, there’s no doubt that the Philadelphia 76ers have tons of questions around who will be the starting point guard next season. Training camp will be the time to figure out who will get the starting spot.

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Scottie Wilbekin, Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan and Pierre Jackson are all names that are battling for the starting spot. Wroten appears to be the front runner in many eyes, but is inhibited by an injury he is recovering from. The rest still seem less than desirable, but Pierre Jackson appears to be a Sixers’ fan favorite.

Throughout the offseason, fans waited for general manager Sam Hinkie to make a move in the trade market. Norris Cole was brought up as a notable intriguing name, but he never came around. Another former Miami Heat player, Mario Chalmers, was also speculated to be a good fit. I had a feeling nothing would get done, and to this point, it hasn’t.

It’s something I understand. With all the prospects going into training camp, things were getting full in the point guard slot. Adding someone else to the mix would make things even more cramped and hard to narrow down. Things are so cramped, in fact, that it looks like fan favorite Ish Smith will not be re-signed by the Sixers.

Once training camp is over, however, the team will have to narrow things down to just a few guards. Some will be cut. Looking forward, I’m certain they may be looking to make a splash at the trade deadline this season, yet again.

Last season, I would say the Sixers were the losers of the trade deadline. They moved Michael Carter-Williams to the Milwaukee Bucks and got the usual back — draft picks. Sure, these picks were a move up (projected top 5) from the eleventh pick that MCW was, but still, the Sixers were hitting a grove. It’s tough to not imagine what could’ve been had they had kept MCW around.

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They also acquired Isaiah Canaan, who is in the running for point guard this season. Still, I think what has to be considered is the option of making a move at the trade deadline this year.

Teams were more than willing to give up their point guards during the offseason, and I’m willing to bet these players — and even possibly a few extras — will be available for the Sixers to try and get after the All Star break.

My suspicion for why the Sixers didn’t pull the trigger with any of the available point guards was the fact that they already had a large handful competing for the position. Once this is narrowed down when the roster for the regular season comes out, who’s to say that the team couldn’t acquire a guard then? They could move players around and make room for a guard.

In my eyes, not many of the prospects that are up for the running of point guard this season are true starters in the NBA yet. None have shown me they have what it takes to lead a team like a Stephen Curry can. Players like Chalmers and Cole certainly aren’t at a Curry level, but they come with more experience and arguably a better skill set than the players available for the Sixers choosing right now.

This is why them waiting for the trade deadline simply makes sense. They can find teams desperate to move players, and get point guards at a low trade-off, and also find players who will contribute more. Since the Sixers aren’t looking to compete in the playoffs this year, there’s really no rush at getting a solid starting point guard before the season starts, likely why they haven’t tried to make a move already.

Still, it’s hard not to think bringing in a point guard with more experience just doesn’t make sense. Hinkie seems to be a fan of developing these younger players and waiting for them to become the more experienced players.

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