Isaiah CANaan Be A Solid CANtributor Next Season

He’s a great fit, for this year…

This is the year where the Philadelphia 76er stop amassing talent, and begin the tedious process of determining player compatibility with the key players.  If you consent to the Ben Simmons selection with the first pick of the 2016 NBA draft, you can quickly begin that assembly.

The presence of Ben Simmons gives you an elite field general who can score and distribute the ball.   With Embiid at the post, you have offense and a rim protector.  Adding Saric gives you perimeter shooting, bolsters your transition game, and gives you better ball movement.

Now you need a shooter at the perimeter.  That’s what Isaiah Canaan does.

With the roster assembling by the 76ers, the team will give perimeter shooters better looks, and that means better accuracy.  Some players raise the level of their teammates.  I project that is the effect of Ben Simmons on the 76ers roster.

Canaan is one of the more senior NBA  players on this roster.  Just having turned 25, he is just beginning to flirt with his NBA prime.  While he’s just gotten to the double digit scoring per game since joining the Philadelphia 76ers,   His three point shooting attempts per game are second on the team to just Robert Covington.   His accuracy at the trey is fifth behind Noel, Carl Landry, Thompson, and substitute temp Christian Wood.

His game compliments that of Simmons rather well.  His shooting and ability to defend guards gives him an edge when lined up on the same basketball court as Ben Simmons, who can handle the heavy lifting of moving the ball and getting Canaan some open shots.

Josh Wilson took a very pragmatic approach in an expose on Isaiah Canaan’s future with the team.  Although he cited the word “meh”, he did give sufficient reasons to believe the team may wish to retain Canaan Simply to see how he develops.

Is Isaiah Canaan a starter for now? No.  But he is a dedicated hard worker who doesn’t blink when asked to step onto the basketball court.  He won’t pause at the moment of taking an important shot.  He won’t cringe if he gets fouled at the perimeter.  In fact, he will likely sink the trey and then sink the following free throw.

Next: Is Brandon Ingram the Next Durant?

That’s tenacity, and that’s what you want on the team and in the locker room.  That’s what you are trying to achieve with this team this year.  Step away from that now, and you lose the courage of a young man whose on court heroics can inspire his teammates to perform better.