Now that the Philadelphia 76ers are in their offseason swing of things, the front office should be looking down every avenue possible to upgrade the roster. That may mean looking at candidates that most would dismiss.
With COVID-19 still being an issue for most of this season, the NBA had to rely on the G-League for talent now more than ever before. It even opened up the door for several former NBA players to try to establish themselves in the G-League.
There are five former NBA veterans who impressed in the G-League this past season and that could still contribute at the NBA level. The nice thing about most of these veterans is that they could be signed for the veterans’ minimum contract which would benefit the Sixers. With being written, let’s begin.
5 NBA veteran free agents that impressed in the G-League: Jodie Meeks
We’re gonna start off this article with a former Sixers’ sharpshooter Jodie Meeks. To give context, I was just browsing through G-League stats one day when Meeks’ name popped on the screen and I was so shocked to see him there it gave me the initial inspiration for this article.
As previously stated, Meeks was a journeyman sharpshooter who made his stint with the 76ers during the post-Allen Iverson era. For his NBA career he shot 37.3 percent from the 3-point line and averaged 9.3 points per game. He was a solid defender at 6-foot-4 for his position as well.
The 34-year-old sharpshooter last played in the NBA during the 2018-19 season for the Toronto Raptors. Injuries were a problem at times for Meeks throughout his career and it did hamper him later in this career. Despite that, he did get championship experience that last year with the Raptors.
This past season he played for the Raptors 905 and averaged 10.4 points on 48.5 percent shooting from deep during 18 games. It’s clear he can still shoot the ball and that’s something that Philly needs, especially due to the injury to Danny Green. It’s unclear if he should be a regular contributor on defense, but it wouldn’t hurt to have him on the end of the bench.