Philadelphia 76ers: Pivotal offseason for Paul Reed

The big headlines surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers as of late have been the underperformances of Ben Simmons and Doc Rivers during the postseason. While those are two worthy headlines, there are other aspects of this club’s roster that deserves attention this offseason as well.

It’s one of the rookies on the roster that deserves some attention at the moment. No, it’s not Tyrese Maxey, as I’ve already given him his due in a recent article. It’s not Isaiah Joe, who will probably get an article from me at some point this offseason. It’s in fact, the G-League MVP and Rookie of the Year Paul Reed.

Pivotal summer for Paul Reed and the Philadelphia 76ers.

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During the regular season, the combo big man averaged 6.8 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks, while shooting 0.0 percent from the 3-point line for the Sixers. It’s not impressive, but part of that has to do with head coach Doc Rivers being known for not playing rookies.

However, there’s a reason why he was the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the G-League. This past season with the Delaware Blue Coats, he averaged 22.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks. He also shot 58.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from deep in the G-League bubble.

To be clear, fans shouldn’t be expecting Reed to play at the elite level he played in the G-League last year going into next season. However, Reed can’t be just a fringe rotation player next season either. He has to be able to be the primary backup center for Joel Embiid.

Christopher Kline of The Sixer Sense recently wrote that this should be the one and only season for future Hall of Famer Dwight Howard in a 76ers uniform. Essentially I agree with Kline. Howard proved to be a negative for the Sixers this postseason and he shouldn’t be playing a regular role on this team moving forward. If Philly wants to bring Howard as a third string center, then so be it, but he can’t be Embiid backup and that’s where Reed can step in.

The was a point in the second half of the season that Rivers stated he didn’t believe Reed couldn’t play center on the NBA level at that point. This offseason Reed will have to improve his defensive IQ, get stronger to defend opposing NBA centers, and become even more confident in his 3-point line.

If he does that, then Reed has all the other tools at 6-foot-9 to be a solid backup center for the Sixers next year. However, if he doesn’t his time in Philly might be up as the franchise needs a quality backup for Embiid. The Sixers are in their title window now with Embiid, they can’t wait for a 22-year-old to develop slowly into Embiid’s backup. They need a good backup now.

Reed can be the primary backup for Embiid next season or his time with the Philadelphia 76ers might be coming to an end and that depends on how he improves this offseason.

Next. Simmons has a new ceiling. dark