Philadelphia 76ers’ new backup point guard: Jimmy Butler

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone with the Philadelphia 76ers having added a fourth star and an essentially new bench.

The Philadelphia 76ers made perhaps the biggest splash of any team at the deadline. They have completed “The Process”, presented their plan for 2019, and outlined what they hope is their future moving forward. Several articles have been written about fit, team direction, and the team’s future salary cap situation.

Philadelphia has the best collection of talent in their starting five of any team outside Golden State. Their revamped bench also brings much more athleticism, switchability, and the potential to go big or small depending on matchups.

PG: Ben Simmons, T.J. McConnell
SG: J.J. Redick, Jonathon Simmons
SF: Jimmy Butler, James Ennis
PF: Tobias Harris, Mike Scott/Jonah Bolden
C: Joel Embiid, Boban Marjanovic/Jonah Bolden

There is, however, still a clear hole on the roster: the backup point guard position. T.J. McConnell is a fan favorite (among some). He is beloved by his teammates and Brett Brown. He can orchestrate the offense while bringing down the tempo. Simply, he is more than many could have hoped for. He is also perhaps their biggest liability.

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McConnell’s Real-Plus-Minus (RPM) grades him out as the 66th best point guard this season. That isn’t good enough to be playing for Philadelphia come playoff time.

The good news for Philadelphia is that they can bolster their team immediately and help their future-prospects all at the same time by promoting in-house.

Jimmy Butler should be their backup point guard.

Butler has expressed his desire to operate more in the pick-and-roll and was gleeful when getting the opportunity to play the point guard position. Furthermore, Butler has operated as the ball-dominant player before during his last season with the Chicago Bulls. The result was the best statistical season of his career. That season saw Butler further his rise to stardom as he produced the highest Offensive Real-Plus-Minus (ORPM) and overall RPM in the league among shooting guards. In fact, he was 87.5 percent better than the second-best shooting guard. He also averaged a career-high in assists.

Brown and Philadelphia have shown the desire to rotate players in and out of the lineup with the intention of keeping stars’ time staggered. This is perhaps even more important with the influx of talent. Between McConnell’s porous defense, Butler’s desire to have the ball, and both his and Harris’ impending free-agency it makes complete sense to let Butler operate as the de facto point guard in lineups without Ben Simmons roughly 10 minutes a game.

Last postseason, Philadelphia had less talent than they do this year. Simmons played almost 37 minutes a game. This postseason should see that number be slightly lower which will give Butler some opportunity to be the primary playmaker.

Brown has a clear affection for McConnell, but the best course of action for the team is to let Butler command the point guard position. He will fill their biggest weakness, stagger minutes to create for happier all-stars, and lead to a better future.