With the injury to their star point guard, the Philadelphia 76ers should at least consider adding another point guard to the roster.
Philadelphia 76ers star point guard Ben Simmons could miss at least two weeks, probably longer than that, according to Andrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. With the postseason only a little over a month away, this was the last thing the Sixers needed. With only Raul Neto being the only other true point guard on the roster, the 76ers don’t have many options moving forward.
Alec Burks and Shake Milton are both combo guards that are limited in their capabilities in running an offense. Neto isn’t much of an offensive threat and can be taken advantage of on the defensive end. The 76ers waived their only other true point guard in Trey Burke earlier this season.
It’s fair to say that outside of Simmons, Philly’s best playmaker is big man Al Horford, which should have the club’s coaching staff and front office worried. It was clear that even before this injury, it would have benefited the Sixers to upgrade their point guard depth chart.
In the past, I wrote about how the 76ers should waive Kyle O’Quinn to bring in another playmaker. While I’ve championed for Philly to bring in a local in Dion Waiters, he’s not a point guard, which is the team’s biggest need right now.
There are at least three point guards available in free agency that should be an upgrade over Neto. Each has their own unique strength that should help improve the Sixers roster moving forward.
Tim Frazier
If the name of Tim Frazier sounds familiar, it should. He was one of the many players that were apart of the Philadelphia 76ers rebuilding efforts known as”The Process”. It was with the Sixers that Frazier began his NBA career.
In his stint with the 76ers, Frazier averaged 5.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.0 steal, while converting 30.2 percent of his field goals and 27.3 percent of his 3-pointers. Needless to say that he’s improved since his stop in Philly.
For his career, Frazier has averaged 5.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, while making 40.8 percent of his shots and 32.9 percent of his attempts from deep. He was having a down year with the Detroit Pistons before they waived him at the trade deadline. To be fair, anyone not named Derrick Rose, Luke Kennard, o Christian Wood is having a tough season in Detroit.
Coming to a playoff team in like the Sixers might help Fraizer pick up his production. It’s clear just by looking at his stats that’s he’s a pass-first point guard that can run an offense. However, if the 76ers decide to sign Fraizer, then he would clearly hurt the team’s floor spacing. General manager Elton Brand needs to decide if adding a playmaker like Fraizer is worth the damage he does to the spacing on the floor.
Tyler Johnson
Technically, Tyler Johnson is a combo guard, but he’s more than capable of running an offense. Johnson has been one of the many diamonds in the rough discovered by the Miami Heat over the years. He was an undrafted free agent, but he turned into a key rotational player for Miami for several seasons.
For his career, Johnson has averaged 10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, while making 35.8 percent of his shots from deep. Last year he was traded to the Phoenix Suns but has failed to impress during his tenure there. This season with the Suns, he averaged 5.7 points and 1.6 assists, while only shooting 28.9 percent from deep.
It’s fair to say that out of the three point guards on this list, Johnson is the best defender. The grit he plays on defense would be a welcomed sight for the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s also capable of playing off the ball, so whenever Simmons does return, Johnson should be able to play alongside the Sixers star point guard.
There’s no denying that his drop in production with the Suns is concerning, but like with Frazier, maybe Johnson just needs a fresh start on a new team. He’s only 27-years-old, so there’s no reason to believe that Johnson can’t bounce back and be a valuable contributor on the 76ers if signed.
Isaiah Thomas
Just three years ago, Isaiah Thomas was one of the best point guards in the NBA. He was leading an overachieving Boston Celtics team and was an MVP candidate. However, multiple injuries have derailed his once-promising career.
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The good news for Thomas is that this season was the first time in a while that he began to look like his former self. When healthy, he was the starting point guard for the Washington Wizards and in terms of pure stats, he wasn’t having a bad season before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and waived.
The 5-foot-9 point guard was averaging 12.2 points and 3.7 assists, while converting 40.8 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent of his shots from behind the arc for the Wizards. While that’s nothing to scoff at, his career averages are more impressive. He’s averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists, while shooting 36.4 percent from downtown.
Thomas is easily the best scorer of this group, but he also has a lot of the tendencies and issues that Burke had while playing for the 76ers. Thomas is a horrendous defender and the ball can sometimes stick with him on the offensive end. Still, the potential that he and Joel Embiid could have on offense should be enticing enough for Philly’s front office to consider signing him.
With Simmons expected to miss multiple games, adding a free agent point guard has to be an option. Each of the point guards on this list have their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s the job of the Philadelphia 76ers front office to consider which one would be the best fit.