Philadelphia 76ers: Milos Teodosic Isn’t Worth the Payoff

With rumors spreading in regards to Milos Teodosic’s potential NBA debut, the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be a potential destination.

This summer, Milos Teodosic single-handedly forced his way onto NBA radars. While the then-29-year-old was someone whose name had been thrown around for quite some time, his dominance in the Rio Olympics gave new life to his potential suitors in the states — and the Philadelphia 76ers may be among that group.

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Just recently, Bryan Colangelo doubled up on his scouting duties with a trip to Spain, watching both Teodosic and recent draftee Furkan Korkmaz play, per ESPN. Even though Teodosic is on the older side of the Sixers’ age spectrum, his talent is enough to warrant some consideration — especially if it’s on a reasonable contract.

In the same ESPN report, analyst Fran Fraschilla had this to say about Teodosic’s game:

"“He’s the best passer in the world, from a purely offensive standpoint. Chris Paul is a Hall of Famer, but as far as a pure passer, [Teodosic] might be the most creative passer in the world today. Now, he will not guard a chair, but he’s a brilliant offensive player and an ultra-competitor.”"

That’s a good summation of Teodosic’s game. In broad strokes, his scouting report bears many of the same attributes that Sergio Rodriguez‘s did coming into last season. He’s mediocre from an athletic standpoint, but provides the type of crafty, high I.Q. approach that can produce more efficient possessions on the offensive side of the ball. He’s also a better shooter than Rodriguez, and — ideally — won’t throw up the same off-the-dribble prayers that the Spaniard fell in love with down the stretch last season.

Where the Teodosic rumors get complicated, however, is when determining the exact role he would inhabit once placed into Philadelphia’s system. With Ben Simmons already expected to handle the bulk of the playmaking load, a pure passer in Teodosic’s mold may be marginalized more so than he’s featured in Brett Brown’s system.

And, while most are dubbing him a surefire starter at the next level, his limited athletic tools could sour that perception in time. The likelihood that both T.J. McConnell and Jerryd Bayless are better than Teodosic defensively is extremely high, making the net gain of having him on the floor — essentially balancing his offensive benefits and defensive downside — something the Sixers will need to monitor on a consistent basis.

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Offensively, the fit is questionable, but something Brett Brown could certainly manage to his advantage. When going down hill, Teodosic’s court vision makes him incredibly difficult to contain. He squeezes passes through windows that most point guards don’t recognize, while his pick-and-roll playmaking is borderline automatic at times. He has the pull-up jumper needed to keep defenders honest and the sheer creativity to leave his defender in the midst of a cyclical guessing game.

His 3-point shooting is consistent enough at 37.5 percent to warrant optimism as well. He doesn’t have the same funky release that gave El Chacho such a wide variance in timing during his tenure with Philadelphia, while his understanding of space and offensive flow allows him to find his spots on the floor with relatively consistent success.

His limited athleticism, though, is still  a massive concern in making the transition to the NBA. As Fraschilla stated in the aforementioned report, “he won’t guard a chair.” He doesn’t have the length nor the explosiveness to stay with top flight athletes defensively, while his limited burst and average physical tools severely cap his upside — especially as a scorer — offensively.

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In short, the payoff for this type of signing seems significantly lower than the hype driving it. Teodosic’s spurts of ball handling and passing wizardry are undoubtedly entertaining to watch, but his fit on a team like the Sixers is slight at best, negligible at worst.

He’d be stepping into an inherently poor fit alongside Simmons, while potentially needed to prove his role over the likes of McConnell and Bayless. It’s not a matter of whether or not he’s good enough. It’s whether or not there’s a reason beyond his solid performance last summer.