Philadelphia 76ers Ish Smith is lauded for his impact on the Sixers, is criticized for his willingness to take a shot when he must. But Ish can dish the ball out, and he’s helping the Sixers turn the corner.
The Philadelphia 76ers were a team of disconnected parts, NBA hopefuls, and huge expectations – someday. When the team began the season, the team knew that there was no clear cut point guard in charge of the floor on the roster. Head coach would be asked to find his floor general from the likes of Scottie Wilbekin, Pierre Jackson, Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan, Kendall Marshall, and T.J. McConnell. With a season opening up with so many injured, the Sixers were even approved to sign a sixteenth man in the form of point guard Phil Pressey. Of that original group, only Isaiah Canaan (now in the role of shooting guard), Kendall Marshall, and T.J. McConnell remain.
"“We had two point guards on the roster in Isaiah Canaan and Tony Wroten, and we signed four others, Kendall Marshall, Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin, and T.J. McConnell. We felt good about those bets.. [We also felt] some set of those six would be able to help us this season, and some of them have. He just wasn’t among that six.” – Sam Hinkie per Keith Pompey per Janurary 31,2016 article at Philly.com"
The point about Hinkie’s comments omitted two very important components. The first was the Sixer strategy of signing young talent with premium money up front to allow better-than-industry team-friendly clauses to be embedded into the contract in latter years. With Ish Smith, his market value and potential were already set, so discounting his future production would be a virtual impossibility for the team.
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The second point about Hinkie’s comments takes into consideration the fact that Hinkie is a pure and simple numbers guy. He believes that the outcome of any roster fill is more about random chance than the quality of the player in the role. His take on seven men as prospects to fill the point guard position fit a game of chance, a poker table where he sits and bets against other players (other NBA general managers) and the house (the NBA draft board). That perspective, his objective understanding of the random forces at work in drafting the right fit serve him incredibly well as he stacks the odds of the game in the Sixers favor.
But when it comes down to one player, one roster spot, and the “perfect fit”, he is oblivious.
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