Who should be the Sixers’ first wing off the bench?

The Philadelphia 76ers‘ wing depth improved drastically with the addition of J.J. Redick, but who should be the first off the bench come October?

The Philadelphia 76ers have lacked depth on the wing for quite some time now. As they sorted out elite prospects in the frontcourt and drained their backcourt of all competitive personnel, we saw plenty of raw, unproven athletes cycled through Brett Brown’s perimeter rotation. Next season, that’ll change.

Robert Covington has now emerged as one of the league’s most under-appreciated (and valuable) two-way contributors at the three, while the addition of J.J. Redick gives Philadelphia their first elite shooting presence since signing Brown to the head coaching gig. That also leaves the team with more depth behind them, as Justin Anderson and Nik Stauskas are joined by two 2016 first rounders in Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Furkan Korkmaz.

As the season approaches, one of the bigger questions surrounding the team’s rotational status is the wing — and more specifically, who’ll be the first one off the bench. We’ll likely get a clearer picture of the situation once training camp starts, but it’s never too early for speculation as opening night creeps closer.

Sixer fans were overwhelmingly in favor of one player in particular:

The first thing to note is that “first wing off the bench” is, of course, a generalized statement. Different matchups warrant different strategies, but this question is targeting who Brett Brown relies on most often and is most comfortable using in a more general sense. It’s difficult to disagree with Luwawu-Cabarrot being the answer.

This is something I touched on earlier in the week, and it speaks to just how rapid TLC’s developmental curve has been. He entered the league as a fairly raw project, yet quickly grew within Brett Brown’s offense as his rookie campaign went on. His offensive awareness improved dramatically down the stretch, while his potential to be an impact player on both ends gives him a massive leg up in this debate.

There are some clear concerns with Luwawu entering next season, with his shooting being one of the most obvious shortcomings. He hit on a mere 31.1 percent of his 3-point attempts last season, and a tally that falls well below the league average makes it easier for defenses to adjust and focus on more formidable weapons on the perimeter.

With that said, the shooting coming off the Sixers’ bench still isn’t great. Aside from Jerryd Bayless — who has had inconsistency issues in the past — Nik Stauskas and Furkan Korkmaz are the only names in the second unit known for their shooting. Stauskas made strides last season, but still shot at a level well below expectations. Korkmaz probably has the best looking shot, but is rail-thin and will likely need extended time to adjust to the rigors of NBA basketball.

TLC is also comfortable in virtually every other respect on the offensive end. He’s excellent as a cutter when gunning through screens, while his improved vision allowed him to carry some secondary ball handling duties late last season. He still worked through some turnover issues in that respect, but he has the feel needed to put the ball on the floor and make the right passes when opportunities present themselves.

On the defensive end, TLC might be the most polished of the bunch. Anderson holds the obvious strength advantage, but Luwawu’s instincts and quickness give him an upper-hand against a lot of opposing wings — which is in part why Anderson may be best suited at the four spot.

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Stauskas and Korkmaz, for different reasons, project as subpar defensive pieces next season. If Luwawu shows any sort of marked improvement with his jumper, there’s little reason not to deploy him as the Sixers’ foremost wing in reserve.