How many Sixers will shoot over 40 percent from three next season?
Only 26 players in the NBA shot 40-plus percent from deep last season, meaning the odds aren’t extraordinarily high. Shooting with that consistency over the course of an 82-game season can be difficult, and having multiple players on the same team sustaining that level of success isn’t all that likely.
The Sixers do, however, have a shot. J.J. Redick is a career 41.5 percent shooter from range, and hasn’t dropped below the 40 percent mark since the 2013-14 season — when he still shot 39.5 percent.
The Sixers will have multiple distributors capable of finding him, as well as three go-to options in front of him. Brett Brown will have plenty of actions to send him through, and the potential for finding him ample looks at the basket is extremely high.
That’s one.
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Jerryd Bayless is the only other name with a real shot at hitting that threshold, and even that remains dependent on his role. The more niche-based it is, the better, but that doesn’t necessarily account for potentially-sporadic minutes as the third string point guard.
All in all, one shooter at 40-plus percent is the best bet.
What are the chances of a big trade/free agency acquisition in the next two years?
This is largely dependent on Bryan Colangelo’s plans. If he’s sold on the idea of an Embiid/Simmons/Fultz core — which seems to be the case for the time being — the bulk of their financial obligations long term will have to go towards those three. When you factor Robert Covington‘s impending extension and Dario Saric into that equation, there’s not much room to make a big splash.
There’s always a chance that they look to swing a deal for a star on the cheaper side of things via trade — as both Covington and Saric could be good chips in that scenario — but a long term commitment to a big name that isn’t currently on the roster feels unlikely.
Colangelo did try to trade for Paul George, though, and the NBA is always prone to change. You can’t rule anything out.