Not-Forgotten Former 76ers: Pierre Jackson, Tony Wroten, Scottie Wilbekin, Christian Wood, and Phil Pressey
By Bret Stuter
Have you any dreams you’d like to share? Dreams of becoming a starter on an NBA team takes perseverance, effort, and a great deal of talent and luck. But there is one final ingredient, opportunity. Will the former 76ers point guard challengers get another?
You knew them as Philadelphia 76ers, young men with hopes and dreams of making an NBA roster, perhaps even starting someday. For these young men, the only thing that has changed is the fact that they no longer don a Philadelphia 76ers jersey. They are still talented young men with a deep aching hunger for the NBA. A hunger which simply gnaws now as they perfect their game on basketball courts.
Christian Wood, a 6’10” power forward, is now playing for the Delaware 87ers. Pierre Jackson is a 5’10” point guard, and is now playing for the Idaho Stampede. Tony Wroten is a 6’6″ guard and was released on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015. Scottie Wilbekin is a 6’2″ point guard and was released by the 76ers on October 26, 2015 and has been signed by Darüşşafaka & Doğuş of Turkey for the 2015–16 season. Finally, Phil Pressey is a 6’0″ point guard and was signed as the 16th man “hardship” player due to a Philadelphia 76er roster full of injured players. He was released on December 4, 2015 and was signed back to the NBA development league with the Idaho Stampede. UPDATED: On February 20, 2016, Phil Pressey was signed to a ten day contract by the Phoenix Suns.
In the case of each young man, there was a dream of playing in the NBA. For a brief period of time, that dream seemed to find its way into reality. But like waking up too early, the dream has vanished into a memory of what might have been, and what may yet be. But when the news broke of the trade deadline deal falling through, a trade which would have netted the Sixers getting Joel Anthony and a second round pick from the Houston Rockets. To make room, the team waived JaKarr Sampson with a clear intention of resigning Sampson after he had cleared waivers. But a funny thing happened along the way. The deal between the Sixers/Rockets and Detroit Pistons was voided, and Sampson had already gone on to sign up with the Denver Nuggets. So far, this looked to be about as bad of an outcome as the team might have possibly imagined.
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But challenges create opportunities. Josh Wilson takes a look at the possible next moves of the Sixers in a well written piece. With recent news that the Sixers had pursued Atlanta Hawk backup point guard Dennis Schroder, there is a clear perception that Sam Hinkie (a) is not sold on the long term solution of Ish Smith on the team and (b) even if he believes in Smith’s ability, is not confident that Smith will resign with the team at a value Hinkie would offer.
So what is the alternative? Clearly point guard is a position the team is vulnerable at. Despite the elevated and unexpected play of rookie T.J. McConnell, there appears to be a gap in what is happening at the position and what the team wants to see from the role. And with a draft pick guaranteed in the top five, as well as a shot at obtaining the Los Angeles Lakers pick at either the four or five spot, the team is prepared to move on the position at every opportunity.
So we have created an opportunity, and the team is moving on every opportunity. With a closing season, the team has under 30 games to develop a contingency plan for the back court. Whether a point guard falls into their lap in the draft, the option of retaining Ish Smith and using his presence to mentor that of T.J.McConnell appears to have been tossed aside. So the team should use the very valuable remainder of a season to learn who can play back court in 2016.
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Signing players to ten day contracts to see how they play now would be a wise use of the remaining time. Both Pierre Jackson and Tony Wroten played injured. With the passing of time. they have healed. Does it make sense to ask them to return for a ten day “tryout” now at the end of the season, to see if they might earn a spot on the roster? I think it could work. If the Sixers are still looking, perhaps its time to revisit prospects who already know the system.