Sixers’ small forward depth chart: Isaiah Joe — FOURTH STRING
Isaiah Joe is also listed as our fourth-string shooting guard. He’s a wing, plain and simple. He’s also primed for expanded opportunities in 2021-22. Rivers is pretty stubborn and may not commit to Joe as a rotation piece this season (which is reasonable), but there’s not much separating Joe from the Korkmaz-level shooters of the world.
Last season, Joe averaged ten 3-point attempts per 36 minutes, which is on par with his college numbers. He lets it fly with unshakable confidence, and converts often enough to earn the label of best shooter from the 2020 NBA Draft. He can out-shoot Korkmaz and Green on a good night, and even some bad nights. Joe has also been a remarkably solid team defender in his limited NBA sample size. He’s due for a breakout sooner than later.
Sixers’ small forward depth chart: Aaron Henry — FIFTH STRING
The Sixers signed Aaron Henry to a two-way contract after he went undrafted in July. That shocked me and others. Henry was a consensus top-60 prospect (no. 49 on my board) and had no shortage of national spotlight at Michigan State. He has a real NBA future and deserves serious devotion from the Sixers’ development staff.
Henry’s bread and butter is defense. He is one of the best perimeter defenders from this year’s draft class and should bring no shortage of versatility and effort to that side of the ball. At 6-foot-5, he can theoretically play either wing position, and can guard an even wider array of players. On offense, Henry has some playmaking chops. The big swing skill is his 3-point shot, which needs serious work.