The Philadelphia 76ers have a ton of new guards, which means T.J. McConnell might not be on the team next season.
The Philadelphia 76ers, along with most other NBA teams, have some slimming down to do on their roster once training camp comes around. Since teams are allowed to have 20 players on their roster heading in to training camp, the ones that have the cash to spend often go right up to the limit, giving players a chance to show off what they’ve got, even if there’s little chance they make the final roster.
T.J. McConnell knows that tale all too well. In last year’s training camp, despite a largely impressive showing at summer league just about a month prior, he was not expected to make the team by very many fans. But hard work paid off, and he made the final roster. Unfortunately, he may find himself in an identical situation this year, despite having an entire season of experience with the Sixers under his belt.
When talking about fit with a roster, McConnell may be a player who is on the outskirts of the Sixers. Not because of his skill set not matching up with other critical players on the team — I’m convinced that McConnell could gel with just about any NBA player — but because the Sixers simply might not have the space for him.
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Training camp begins with 20 players, and must be slimmed down to 15 by the time the regular season rolls around. Last year, a similar epidemic was happening, but with different players. Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall were the leading guards to make the team, despite ACL tears for each of them, and that resulted in Pierre Jackson getting cut, since McConnell made the team.
The Sixers have two point guards who will almost certainly find themselves on the final roster that were signed this offseason. Jerryd Bayless is likely to be the starting point guard on opening night, and Sergio Rodriguez — currently competing in the Rio Olympics — will be his backup. There’s room on the roster for a third point guard, but Gerald Henderson can also slip into the point (although I would consider him a shooting guard first and foremost).
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McConnell, even if he makes the final roster — which could be a long shot, as I’m trying to convey — may struggle to find minutes on this team due to the nature of the roster. There’s veterans on this team now, and all of them happen to be guards, which isn’t good for T.J.’s minutes.
At the same time, T.J. could look at this as a good thing. He now has the chance to learn under some of the NBA’s experienced players. He now has a chance to be a traditional young guy who has to work his way up the ladder. And when you give T.J. a goal, and a point to work to, he does it to the best of his ability.
T.J. does his best work when people count him out, and when he has a goal to work towards. As Alaa Abdelnaby discussed on the Flat Top Podcast, McConnell was inspired this past year to play well all season to get to January 10th, the day his contract became guaranteed.
McConnell does his best work when he’s got something to prove, and this year, that will be the case. He may just barely make the final roster, but he will be playing with a chip on his shoulder all season long, which is when we see the best of T.J.