5 free agents to stay away from: Maurice Harkless
One thing that the Philadelphia 76ers need heading into next season is a big wing to defend against opposing small forwards. Outside of Simmons and Tobias Harris, the Sixers are relatively small on the wing defender depth chart. Don’t be a mistake, Matisse Thybulle is great, but at 6-foot-6 he can be bullied by bigger wings.
That being written, there’s at least one big perimeter defender that the 76ers should stay away from and that’s Maurice Harkless. While he was originally drafted by the franchise, he never played for Philly as he was a part of the Andrew Bynum trade.
Since then, he’s made a solid name for himself as a versatile defender and pretty good athlete. However, there’s one glaring hole in his game and that is his inability to hit 3-pointers on a consistent basis.
For his career, he’s averaged 7.0 points and 1.0 steals, while shooting 32.1 percent from the 3-point line. With floor spacing already being an issue on the 76ers, adding another player who can’t hit 3-pointers on a consistent basis just isn’t a smart move for the front office.