Philadelphia 76ers Ish Smith Can Dish

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.

Next: Jerry Just Fixed It

Jerry Just Fixed It

And so, when Ish Smith faced free agency, he was confident that the team would make him an offer he couldn’t refuse. That offer didn’t come.

"“I wanted to be back here, to be honest with you,” he said. “I just didn’t know what was going on.”There was no negotiation [with the Sixers],” Smith said. “I’m just going to leave it at that.”"

And so, the season began for Ish Smith as a New Orleans Pelican, and for the Sixers with seven prospects whittled down by Brett Brown to four. The story may have ended there, if not for the team majority owner Josh Harris stepping outside of the box to bring form Phoenix Suns owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo into the fold as executive chairman of basketball operations. From that moment in time, while everyone outside of the organization sought signs of a power struggle, of a shift in the road away from Sam Hinkie’s strategic master plan and towards a more tactical focused design of Colangelo, Jerry Colangelo did what nobody expected.

He served the team needs.

Brett Brown needed a point guard. He could not focus on mentoring an entire team and growing a full-fledged one from the roster seeds handed to him by Sam Hinkie. Each new player, from Isaiah Canaan, to T.J. McConnell, to Kendall Marshall, to Tony Wroten, tried to carve a name for himself out of the point, but the closest the team got was inspired and unexpected play from undrafted Arizona point guard McConnell, who could create plays with assists, but whose timidity failed to score enough to threaten defenses.

The point guard position required too much of Brett Brown’s attention, and without an assistant, the team’s development was taking precedence over the on-court results.

1-30 was the result.

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But Colangelo was more than a figure-headed executive to calm the media perception that the Philadelphia 76ers were playing poorly. He wanted to make it right, to fix the team. To do so, he asked “how can I help?” of overburdened head coach Brett Brown.  And so, the familiar tale of two second round picks for the former point guard to return is history. Right now, Ish Smith is filling the point guard spot as competently as the wildest hopes of the team could have imagined.  Some see him as the savior for the team.   Some see the role of Ish Smith as hopeful, but too soon to tell what long term role the man will play going forward.  But undeniably, the team has taken on a new persona from the moment he took the helm.  Almost overnight, the team has transformed into a scrappy fiesty never-say-die opponent to even the best team in the NBA.  Point guard Ish Smith has done everything asked of him so far.  But what will he bring to the team next year?  That is where minds part ways.

Next: Tomorrow Is Today

Tomorrow Is Today

You see, speculation about the role of Ish Smith to next year’s roster is divisive to the fanbase.  Some point to his production today and see plenty of reasons to be hopeful. He’s solid, he’s proven to make a significant positive impact.  He’s here, he’s now, and he’s just been playing a little better than a month with this new roster.  How good can he become?  Well, he’s playing very well already.

This is a video of Ish Smith following the last moment heart-breaking loss to the Golden State Warriors. There is no quit, no defeat in this man.  There is also a team leader.  He is quietly becoming the leader of the team, despite being one of the most recent newcomers. (okay, if you add his time up he’s probably better classed as a true team veteran). It’s that role of quiet soft-spoken messages which lead the team through the highs and lows of the NBA season since his arrival in late December.  Keep in mind, despite his past experiences with the team, and the obvious chemistry he has with players like Nerlens Noel, he is still just starting over with the team, and is playing for the first time with Jahlil Okafor, and has yet to play with the likes of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric – despite both players association with the Philadelphia 76ers for the past two seasons. So when he steps up to the microphone and discusses the team direction, it’s not his history speaking, but the vision inside the man – and the alignment of his vision with that of head coach Brett Brown and assistant head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Next: Lure Of The NBA Draft

The Lure Of The NBA Draft

Right now, Ish Smith’s greatest competition is not even on the roster, nor even playing in the NBA. With his performance at the point guard clearly as the starter, young rookie T.J. McConnell has emerged as the reserve point guard – a role that befits the young man as he gleans both experience and confidence playing backup to Smith. In fact, since the trade for Smith, McConnell’s game has actually improved.

He now has a mentor to learn from through conversation and observation. So far, it’s working.

But the pair play for a team whose NBA draft can include four first round draft picks, with two of those picks optimistically sitting at the first and fourth picks of the draft.   In either position, game changing talent can be found.  Prospects whose impact should immediately translate into a top ten in the NBA at their position in their first year.  And these Sixers have two potential picks.  They also have a perceived need at the point guard position since the team failed to land D’Angelo Russell with the third pick of the NBA 2015 draft.  He went to the Los Angeles Lakers who picked second that year.   Forget the fact that T.J. McConnell is outplaying D’Angelo Russell this season, or that Russell is rumored to be on the trade block  by the Lakers already. There was a draft with a prospect fitting a need.  Fans do not shrug that story off easily.

Sometimes, top rated prospects do not deliver quickly, or worse, sometimes not at all. The Lakers may have done the Sixers a favor in taking Russell, who is not winning over the head coach of the Lakers so far.

Right now, the Sixers have many alternative options for the upcoming draft.  They should focus on wings, either a shooting guard or a small forward.  This draft has plenty of options.  The obvious answer for the team is to focus on BPA and sort out the player skillsets after the fact.  That path has linked the team with both Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor, despite the presence of center turned power forward Nerlens Noel previously.

ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: What Can Jerry Colangelo Tell Us About Philadelphia 76ers Trade Strategy?

If the team targets a point guard in this draft, there is talent there.  Duke’s Jammal Murray, or Providence’s Kris Dunn, Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson, Kentucky’s Isaiah Briscoe, or even California’s Tyrone Wallace could be considered.

Next: It Would Be Just Like Starting Over

It Would Be, Just Like Starting Over

But drafting for a starter on a stretch for a particular player or even just to fill a need would created problems for the team. Prospects need minutes to learn, improve, and build their skills. But this team has endured those growing/groaning pains for the past three years. For right now, where this team is, with a clear starter and a young rookie prospect on the roster with proven upside, would it be progress to step back and redirect precious game minutes to a newcomer who needs to learn the team, his coach, and his role? Right now this pair of point guards on the roster is clicking well, very well.  If the team wants legitimate play and production, they have Ish Smith.  If the team wants to focus on the future, they have a surprising talent of T.J. McConnell

For the team to use a draft pick on a potential replacement for either spot, he had better be an outstanding talent with ceiling somewhere is outer space.  Right now, I don’t know if that makes sense for the team.  Perhaps if the team has the opportunity to emerge from the NBA draft with Ben Simmons and converts him to the point guard role, it could make some sense down the road. How often can a team have an opportunity to hit on a point guard with a frame of Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson?

ALSO ON SIXER SENSE: Why The Philadelphia 76ers Shouldn’t Trade The Lakers Pick 

Dreams and aspirations. That’s what an NBA draft brings to a team hopeful for a turnaround. A turnaround like the one Ish Smith has brought to his Philadelphia 76ers. Ish Smith might not be the most accurate shooter on the team, but Ish Smith can dish the ball around. For Brett Brown and Mike D’Antoni, that makes him the best point guard for the team right now.  And right now, the Sixers are turning the corner.