The Philadelphia 76ers will immediately benefit from Seth Curry’s presence.
Daryl Morey’s first day of action as Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations was — in one word — hectic. He overhauled the starting five, unloaded out of the worst contracts in basketball, and made some swell picks in the partly overshadowed 2020 NBA Draft.
One of his flashier moves was the trade for Seth Curry, who comes from Dallas in exchange for Josh Richardson and the 36th overall pick. Curry will immediately join the starting five as Philadelphia’s most prolific shooter. He hit 45.2 percent of his 3-point attempts last season.
Here’s why he will positively impact the Sixers.
3. Contract
Curry signed a four-year, $32 million contract with Dallas in 2019. Not only will Curry remedy the Sixers’ poor spacing, but he will stick around for three years on a team-friendly contract. Richardson, conversely, was an expiring contract who stood little chance of re-signing.
The Sixers don’t have much financial flexibility, even after jettisoning Al Horford to OKC. Curry is guarantees an elite shooter next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for at least three years, and in a pinch, he’s a tremendous trade asset. There’s not much downside here — even if Richardson was a better overall talent.
2. Ball won’t stick
The Sixers will miss Richardson, who was better offensively than he got credit for. He was also a borderline elite defender, and one of the very few bright spots in Philadelphia’s first-round loss to Boston. He’s a better player — period — than his brief time as a Sixer would suggest.
Things went south for Richardson, in part, due to injuries. They also went south because of fit. The Sixers needed Richardson to do more as a ball-handler and facilitator than he was capable of doing. While Richardson is a competent slasher and spot-up threat, he’s not a point guard. Too often, Philadelphia needed him to be a point guard.
The Sixers don’t entirely solve this problem with Curry, who is by no stretch a prolific facilitator. Curry offsets that with his shooting. He also offsets that with his decision-making. The ball won’t stick with Curry, who’s quick to move the ball and quick to move without it.
Richardson was a molasses-like decision maker. He was hesitant as a shooter, which Curry won’t be. He was prone to aimless drives to nowhere and contested mid-range jumpers early in the shot clock. Curry won’t be. The Sixers’ offense will run smoother, even if the need for a reliable shot-creator in the halfcourt still exists.
1. Fit with Jo and Ben
I know. Duh. The Sixers executed this trade not because Curry is a talent upgrade over Richardson, but because Curry is a fit upgrade over Richardson. The Sixers are finally committed to building around the most gifted young duo in basketball. It’s about time the front office made that a priority.
As Daryl Morey mentioned in his late-night press conference, the success of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons when surrounded by shooting is “completely insane.” The numbers indicate a road to competitiveness, and shedding multiple poor fits to add two elite shooters in Curry and Danny Green will improve the Sixers’ offense immeasurably.
Doc Rivers is not Brett Brown, but he understands the value of a high-level shooter. He worked with J.J. Redick in Los Angeles, and many will hold up Curry as the Sixers’ belated Redick replacement. Curry doesn’t have Redick’s shot versatility, but he can run many of the same two-man actions that made Embiid and Redick such an effective duo.
Curry will make life easier for Embiid. A less taxing offense, in which Embiid has a spaced floor and more options to defer to, will keep him healthier longer. The Redick two-man game was a consistent source of easy looks at the rim. When that well dried up, Embiid was forced to fight his way to points almost every possession — often facing a comically lopsided defense tuned into his every move. Curry will relieve a ton of pressure.
This also helps Simmons, who is at his best running the floor while shooters flank him. Curry will have the time of his life trailing Simmons in transition and burying spot-up 3s. Whether it’s a slowed-down offense with Embiid, or a sped-up offense with Simmons, Curry will have no shortage of ways to make an impact.