Philadelphia 76ers draft trade looks worse with Zhaire Smith injury

The trade that the Philadelphia 76ers made draft night to acquire Zhaire Smith doesn’t have the same appeal it did due to Smith’s recent injury.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown and the clubs front office now are tasked with finding either an internal or external replacement for the recovering rookie Zhaire Smith. He’s expected to miss time due to a Jones fracture in his left foot. Besides affecting the short term depth of the team, the injury also presents a narrative that can’t be ignored.

Smith was acquired on a draft night trade that sent the Sixers 10th pick Mikal Bridges to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Smith who was the 16th pick and the rights to the Miami Heat’s 2021 unprotected first round pick. At the time, Brown said the move was made, because the team was “…star hunting” and he believed that Smith could become a star or that the pick acquired could be used to acquire a star via draft or a trade.

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Philadelphia’s search for another star to add via trade or free agency to their core was very unsuccessful. The injury to Smith won’t help the narrative that he could become a star player. Let it be clear, that this injury should not stop any star potential he has. However, for such a raw player missing time due to injury won’t help him when he clearly needs playing time in order to develop that potential.

The argument could be made that Philly would have been better off keeping Bridges instead of trading him on draft night. While Smith may have more potential, Bridges still has the potential to be a very good starter in the NBA. This can be seen from the fact that for the most part, Bridges had the much better Summer League than Smith.

The Sixers rookie only averaged 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks, while shooting 32.1 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from 3-point land. Whereas Bridges averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks, while converting 45.5 percent of his shots from the floor and 43.8 percent from downtown. Bridges proved to be a better defender and efficient scorer during the Summer League between the two players.

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Smith getting injured is the icing on the metaphorical cake of what makes the trade that acquired him look bad. Smith’s injury compounded with Bridges’ overall better Summer League performance and the Sixers lack of an established star this summer makes the short term outcome of the trade look bad. Hopefully, Smith recovers and fulfills his potential and the Sixers are able to land another star in the future to make this trade worth the price.