Philadelphia 76ers: 3 failures at the NBA Trade Deadline

There’s no doubt that the Philadelphia 76ers made moves to improve the roster at the NBA Trade Deadline, but the franchise still failed in several ways.

The Philadelphia 76ers made a total of five moves at and after the NBA Trade Deadline. The additions of both Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks will help the Sixers as they make a postseason run. Flipping James Ennis for a second round pick wasn’t a bad move either. However, general manager Elton Brand wasn’t perfect at this NBA trade deadline. There were at least three things he failed to accomplish.

Upgrade the point guard position

Brand addressed the 76ers biggest issues which was 3-point shooting. However, he failed to address the team’s second biggest issues coming off the bench. Philly still needs a legit backup point guard.

Prior to the trade, Raul Neto and Trey Burke manned the backup point guard position. Both have their strengths and weakness, but it was clear that both won’t be able to contribute in a playoff setting.

The Sixers needed to upgrade that depth chart. I wrote about several different options and the 76ers were even linked in rumors to Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose (trade scenario here). Yet, Philly failed to land any backup point guards.

The closest thing they got to acquiring a point guard is Burks, but he’s more a combo guard who usually plays at shooting guard. It’s true that Burks averages 3.1 assists this season, but he’s only averaged 1.9 assist for his career. He’s a good enough passer to run the pick-and-role as  Alexandro Fidanza of The Sixer Sense wrote, but he’s not able to orchestrate a whole offense.

Not getting a capable backup point guard at the trade deadline may end up stinging the Sixers once the playoffs begin.