Moving forward there are some of the questions surrounding Zhaire Smith’s future and his outlook with the Philadelphia 76ers.
To say that Zhaire Smith hasn’t lived up to his status as a first round pick, would be an understatement. In two seasons and 13 total games, he’s averaged 11.0 minutes, 3.7 points, and 1.2 rebounds, while making 37.8 percent of his field goals. Despite having very limited production up to this point, he still could have a bright future with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Multiple injuries his rookie season stunted his development from a raw prospect into a viable NBA player. As a result, he spent almost all of his second year developing on the Sixers G-League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. He saw some very promising progress in his development with the Blue Coats, as I’ve already written about.
With that in mind, he could very well have a promising future in Philadelphia, but that all depends on if he can stay on the roster. The Sixers could decide to use Smith in a potential trade to bulk up the bench or as an extra incentive for another team to take on Al Horford‘s terrible contract.
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However, working under the assumption that he will be on the roster, there may finally be a path to playing time for Smith who will be entering his third season. Alec Burks is set to be a free agent this summer and Glenn Robinson III has a player option on his contract that he may decide to exercise.
If both of those wings find new teams in free agency, the Sixers might decide to see if Smith can contribute on the NBA level next season. Philly won’t have a lot of financial flexibility with Ben Simmons‘ max contract extension kicking in, so seeing what Smith can do might be the 76ers best option.
Smith’s past with the Philadelphia 76ers has been underwhelming, but his future should be one of the potential opportunities entering next season.