Is Paul Reed in the Philadelphia 76ers’ doghouse?

After winning the G-League’s MVP, Rookie of the Year, and along with him making an All-Summer League team, Paul Reed was primed to have a bigger role with the Philadelphia 76ers this year. To begin the year he was given the opportunity to begin the season.

He’s even started two games because of injury/COVID protocols early in the year. However, he’s not getting those opportunities as of late. In fact, he’s been assigned to the Sixers’ G-League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats for their past two games.

Is this strategic development or is this Reed being put into the 76ers head coach Doc Rivers’ dog house?

Is Reed in the Philadelphia 76ers’ doghouse or are they just trying to develop him more?

Thus far this season, Reed has been averaging 2.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.5 fouls in 9.8 minutes for Philly. In the two games as a starter, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 2.0 blocks, and 3.5 fouls in 22.5 minutes.

Just on the surface, the biggest issue for Reed this season was the same problem for him last year as a rookie. He still is fouling too much. Don’t be mistaken, he’s had his moments like when he was defending Giannis Antetokounmpo when he had two blocks and three steals. However, knowing position or when to pick his spots on defense has still been a problem overall.

Another factor that has cut into his time is that rookie Charles Bassey has looked better than advertised as a second round pick. Bassey is more of a traditional center and has looked NBA-ready in limited minutes.

If Reed still has holes in his game and it also appears that Bassey has surpassed him on the center depth chart, he has no real path to playing time unless there are multiple injuries. However, it’s clear he still has room to grow so playing time is important for him.

When asked about Reed’s recent Blue Coats appearances, Rivers had this to say, per Ky Carlin of the Sixerswire.

"“He just needs some playing time,…He struggles in execution a lot and so we want to really put him through it, let him play more minutes, and see if he can get through it.”"

It doesn’t seem like Reed is in River’s doghouse instead, Rivers understands the importance of getting a young big man real game reps. That being written, there does seem to be a level of concern due to the fact Rivers said, “..see if he can get through it.” There doesn’t seem complete confidence in Reed’s ability to develop in his ability to execute, but that doesn’t mean that Rivers has given up on Reed either.

Reed isn’t in the Philadelphia 76ers doghouse, but it seems like he won’t be the rotation for the foreseeable future as he still needs more development.