Bringing in Ish Smith Made Backcourt Uncertain

Ish Smith is making some decisions for the Philadelphia 76ers very difficult.

Ish Smith was brought in to help the Philadelphia 76ers and their horrid offense in two consecutive seasons. Last year, he came in and did well, but the team looked to try out other options instead of re-signing Ish.

That move proved to be the biggest mistake of the Sixers’ offseason, as partway through this season, they realized the other guards in their arsenal were not going to make any significant impact and lead the Sixers to wins. They utilized draft picks and traded for Ish in late December, making two consecutive seasons where they needed him.

Without a doubt, bringing in Smith improved the Sixers offense in both seasons, and his full abilities at the point guard spot allowed him to outdo any of his teammates battling for the starting spot. His points per game (15.2) and assists per game (7.0) are much higher than any other guard on the team. Additionally, since bringing him on, the Sixers have improved their offensive rating. Before Ish, it was 94.8, and since Ish was brought in, it’s been 102.8.

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Overall, the consensus is that Smith answered a lot of unknowns in the backcourt, but the way I see it, he caused a lot of confusion, especially for this upcoming offseason. This will be made clear as the Sixers look to build their roster this upcoming offseason, and decide who will stay on the team and who will go.

If the Sixers continued on their downward trend put in place before Smith was brought onto the team this season, they wouldn’t have won much. Not that they won a ton more (just 7 more games, total) with Smith on their squad, but still, things weren’t completely awful once he came to the team.

Let’s say that downward trend continued, and still, none of the guards available on the Sixers team stepped up and started to play like a true point guard. It would have been made clear, once the offseason came around, that an obvious area that needs to be improved is in the backcourt.

It is still fairly clear that the Sixers are weak in the backcourt and need to acquire some better talents in that realm, but not as clear as it would have been if Ish wasn’t brought on. The water is murky, and the decision is a bit harder. Is Ish worth putting their trust in? Or do they need someone else who has proved more in their career?

Ish is a good player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not a point guard that you build a competitive franchise around. He’s a solid sixth man or a great point guard on a rebuilding team, but I don’t see a starting role for him on any playoff team.

So, the Sixers have a decision to make there as well. Do they get rid of Smith again this season, and hope that they find a better point guard in free agency or the draft? They thought that would be the case this past season, and felt comfortable letting him go, but later regretted that decision. They don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Another thing that can be considered is that Nerlens Noel plays much better with Ish than without. I’m no supporter of an NBA player needing a specific teammate in order to play well, but keeping him around for one season while they transition to their next point guard could be healthy. This situation really only makes sense if Noel is expected to be with the team long-term as well, which these days is questionable.

Ish is an unrestricted free agent this summer, so if the Sixers are planning on pursuing him, they will have several other teams competing with them. I wouldn’t be opposed to them bringing him on and someone else in the backcourt, but I also would understand if they let him go completely. They’ve got a pretty hard decision to make with Smith.

Next: Sixers Need Improvement Next Season

If the Sixers do bring Ish back, then they still should be looking to bring on another guard, and will have to get rid of one of the existing ones. Kendall Marshall is an obvious thought, due to his style of play not fitting in with this team whatsoever, but T.J. McConnell is another face that comes to mind when thinking of players that may be kicked out over this summer due to expansions and progress in certain areas.

While some see the frontcourt of the Sixers as the biggest issue, I believe that the backcourt needs the most work done to it by far, and that’s partially because of the team bringing in Ish Smith this year.