T.J. McConnell
Everyone loves T.J.! Not liking the plucky 6-foot-2, 190-pound point guard is like kicking a puppy. He brings a great attitude, hustle and you know he is leaving everything on the court when he checks in. The problem is, everything might not be enough. His physical limitations get exposed on defense and his lack of an outside shot (33 percent from the three-point line) can be a problem, particularly when paired with the even more jumper-challenged Ben Simmons.
Brett Brown benched him for the Raptors series and had Butler take over the backup point guard duties. Unfortunately for McConnell, that strategy worked well (except for the final three minutes of Game 7).
Do the Sixers want him?
Brown being retained as head coach is a big plus in McConnell coming back. He is captain of the ‘Love T.J.’ club. A great locker room guy and, as a third-string point guard, can be effective in short bursts. Why not?
Would other NBA teams have any interest and how much would Sixers pay to keep him?
The market for McConnell might be quite robust. Scrappy, pass-first, team-oriented point guards are valuable for chemistry and helps paryicularly if a team features a bunch of shooters. In his last season with Cleveland, LeBron James tried to pry T.J. away. Will King James want him to join that circus in L.A.? Early this past season Phoenix dangled a second-round pick that Elton Brand turned down, a move he might regret now.
Final answer: McConnell got paid $1.6 million last year on the final season of the ‘Hinkie Special’ super cheapo contract he signed as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona. A two-year deal for, say, a guarantee of $4 million, with some incentives thrown in, would be what the Sixers should offer. However, the guess here is that another team will offer him more. Then it is just a question of how much McConnell wants to stay with the only team he has ever played for.