Sixers: 3 players who benefit most from James Harden trade

Sixers who benefit most from James Harden trade: Charles Bassey

The easy and boring answer here would be Georges Niang or Danny Green, both of whom are volume 3-point shooters who could see more minutes and increased opportunities due to the roster shift. However, let me get on my Sixers soapbox for a moment and make my pitch: it’s time to embrace the Charles Bassey experience.

Right now, Bassey is lined up for a real opportunity in the backup center role. That could fizzle out with a free agent signing on a Paul Millsap resurgence, but right now, the best option on the roster is Bassey. And that’s not really a bad thing.

Yes, it’s moderately worrisome on paper for the Sixers to rely on a second-round rookie. Yes, Bassey could be out of his depth in the playoffs. But, maybe not. In his very limited opportunities this season (22 games, 7.3 minutes per game) Bassey has looked poised and polished beyond most rookie centers. He has clean footwork as a roll man and lob threat, while his springboard athleticism and hulking size are naturally impressive on the defensive end.

Harden has always been at his best with a center who sets good screens, rolls hard, and plays above the rim. Bassey is the only player currently on the roster who fulfills that archetype, and from what little we’ve seen of him, he’s already quite adequate. The Sixers should probably keep a more senior option on the roster just in case — be it Millsap, or a buyout candidate like Cody Zeller — but in the regular season, there’s very little harm in letting Bassey cut his teeth next to Harden, who is probably the ideal point guard for a player with Bassey’s skill set.