The Philadelphia 76ers are entering a pivotal offseason and the front office has to make all the right moves to bolster this team’s depth. With that in mind, free agency will be very important for the Sixers this offseason.
While there are certainly free agents who Darryl Morey, the president of basketball operations for Philly, should be keeping an eye on, there are those that the front office should stay away from. There are four free agents that the team should certainly stay away from this offseason.
5 free agents to stay away from: Dennis Smith Jr.
The 2017 NBA Draft had some notable stars come out of it and some infamous for bust. For 76ers, they drafted Markelle Fultz first overall who because of injuries didn’t work out in Philly. However, there were other busts from that draft and it appears that Dennis Smith Jr. can be put in that category.
Smith was the ninth pick in that draft and is a score-first point guard in the NBA. The problem has been that Smith is an inefficient scorer. For his career, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals, while converting 40.0 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from the 3-point line.
Granted he’s just had one of the best stretches of his career in terms of efficiency with the Detroit Pistons, but he’s been on three teams in four years. The Dallas Mavericks originally draft him but traded him a season and a half into his career in favor of building around Luka Doncic. He never found his fitting with the rebuilding New York Knicks.
While I hope that Smith can eventually get his career on track, it shouldn’t be on Philly. He needs a spot where he can get regular playing time and has the opportunity to make mistakes on a rebuilding team like the Pistons who he played for last year.