The Philadelphia 76ers are a top team in NBA, but if they want to have a real chance at winning a title, then they need another scorer to their roster.
There’s no denying that the Philadelphia 76ers are in the conversation for contending for a NBA championship. Their starting five is one of the most talented in the NBA, but the questions about their legitimacy begins with their reserves. If the Sixers want to be a clear favorite for a NBA title, then they need to add another scorer to the bench.
This isn’t to say that the 76ers reserves are terrible. They actually rank 15th in field goal percentage, seventh in 3-point percentage and 13th in plus/minus box score. Still the bench has some major weaknesses, mainly in the scoring department. They rank 26th in points per game, only ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.
Philly needs more scoring and this isn’t a knock to what the current reserves are doing. Both Furkan Korkmaz and (arguable) James Ennis are having the best season of their respective careers. Yet, neither are averaging in double-digits and the Sixers need a player that can score in that range coming off the bench.
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Earlier this season, I suggested that the 76ers needed to play Trey Burke more to help with the team’s scoring issues. He’s a career double-digit scorer, but sadly he hasn’t proven to be a viable option due to his overall inefficiency as a scorer this season.
The Sixers need outside help, but sadly there aren’t that many options available. Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense, recently wrote that the 76ers should trade for J.J. Redick and while I personally love the idea, it will be hard to pull of that trade. It will be difficult for Philly in general to navigate the trade market due to the fact that the team doesn’t have too many assets outside their own first round picks and a plethora of second rounders.
One other option is free agency, but their are only two proven scorers on the market in J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford. With Smith barely playing last season, it’s hard to know what he can still contribute to a team. It’s also difficult to imagine that Crawford could be a much better option than Burke is at the moment. If free agency is a path that Sixers general manager Elton Brand wants to take, then waiting for the buyout market to get hot might be the best option.
It’s not going to be easy, but the Philadelphia 76ers have to find a way to add another legit scorer to their bench. It will be worth it during the playoffs when they are in a situation when they need reliable scoring coming off the pine.