With the recent addition of Willie Cauley-Stein, the Philadelphia 76ers currently have five players whose primary purpose on the roster is to play center. That’s a problem and assuming that Cauley-Stein does outstay his current 10-day contract, the Sixers should look to waive one of their big men.
This doesn’t really need to be written, but clearly, MVP candidate Joel Embiid isn’t going anywhere. That leaves Paul Reed, Paul Millsap, and Charles Bassey as the likely big men to be waived. In the best interest of the 76ers, Millsap should be the primary candidate to be waived if Cauley-Stein stays with the team the rest of the season.
The Philadelphia 76ers should have Paul Millsap as the odd man out if they have to waive a play.
Why should Sixers part ways with a former All-Star who still has something left in the tank? It’s simple, Millsap isn’t significantly better than Reed or Bassey this season. The numbers speak for themselves.
The first graphic is Millsaps’ stats from this season and the second graphic has the stats for both Reed and Bassey.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/26/2022.
| Rk | Player | Season | Age | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Bassey | 2021-22 | 21 | 23 | 7.3 | .638 | .000 | .698 | .638 | .750 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 3.0 |
| 2 | Paul Reed | 2021-22 | 22 | 25 | 9.2 | .450 | .000 | .482 | .450 | .400 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 2.3 |
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 2/26/2022.
Of course, Millsap brings some intangibles to the 76ers such as leadership and basketball I.Q., however, he lacks size and athleticism at this point in his career. The Sixers need those two things in Embiid’s primary backup. On top of that, the fact that his stats aren’t significantly better really doesn’t help his case for staying on this team.
Reed and Bassey have a real chance to contribute to this team beyond this season, but Millsap doesn’t. His intangibles are nice to have in the locker room, but with other veteran leaders like James Harden, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, and Embiid, there’s not a strong need for Millsap’s veteran leadership.
Waiving Millsap could help Philly fill their need for more perimeter depth and it’s a clear need that the Sixers have. Even if Millsap is waived the depth of Cauley-Stein, Reed, and Bassey should be enough for the Sixers to make a deep playoff run.
In the end, if the Philadelphia 76ers decide to keep Cauley-Stein, the front office should serviously consider moving on from veteran Millsap to help keep roster balance.