Fringe players Sixers should target in Ben Simmons trade: Malachi Flynn
Malachi Flynn’s opportunities were limited as a rookie, with Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr. all soaking up minutes in the backcourt. Even so, he flashed serious promise for a relatively young Raptors team. In 19.7 minutes per game, the 23-year-old averaged 7.5 points and 2.9 assists.
Some will look at Flynn’s shooting splits (.374/.321/.804) and take a hard pass. Sure, that’s not great, but he was also a rookie point guard. Even older rookie guards tend to struggle from the jump. It’s hard to run an NBA offense. Flynn’s opportunities were also sporadic, so rhythm was out of the question.
When afforded long stints of playing time, Flynn generally delivered on his promise. He’s a twitchy scorer with deep pull-up range and unshakable confidence. No one is saying build a trade package around Flynn, but as a throw-in to a larger deal, he could give the Sixers’ second unit a real lift.
Philadelphia already has enough small guards on the roster. Flynn is listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds — not exactly pushing guys around on defense. Even so, his ability to create off the dribble is something the Sixers presently lack. Flynn has real long-term equity as a shooter (and more importantly a pull-up shooter), and in this writer’s opinion, would not take long to out-value Shake Milton.
Flynn was actually my pick for the Sixers in a recent 2020 re-draft, with Tyrese Maxey off the board well before the 21st pick rolled around. Flynn was a prime Sixers target last summer on draft night, and would make a nice addition to the bench next season.