The Philadelphia 76ers only made subtractions before the trade deadline, yet for some reason, the front office refuses to make additions. By additions, we mean those that actually matter, because if we are being frank, those players they added do not really move the needle for the team given their most pressing need in the rotation right now — a real backup point guard.
Since trading Jared McCain, the 76ers have relied mostly on patchwork options to man the point off the bench. Quentin Grimes and Trendon Watford have been filling in the playmaking duties for the last week or so. In fact, Kyle Lowry even saw action in one game, playing 18 minutes. Clearly, this cannot be the move if they are serious about making the roster as foolproof as it can be before the playoffs.
The 76ers refuse to sign another point guard for no reason
Philly’s latest additions, Charles Bassey and Patrick Baldwin Jr., are players whom even a non-sports fans would not mistake for point guards. Those are low-risk, high-reward fliers for them, but neither can help the 76ers at the moment.
You would think that after trading McCain, the 76ers would have a response to fill his void at the guard position, right? Well, the strange part is that the front office seems like it never even had that kind of disposition before the trade deadline. Daryl Morey himself attested to the fact that they were prepping for a bigger deal as a follow-up, yet there have been little to no efforts to even directly replace his spot in the rotation.
Given how the 76ers operate, point guard play is an utmost necessity. They badly need someone who can organize them in the halfcourt, even if only for spurts. Right now, there is way too much independent creation on offense, and having another player who can be banked on to handle the rock and kickstart plays would be handy in the playoffs when defenses start to double-down on the usual suspects.
The All-Star break is here, but Morey and his cohorts cannot afford to take it easy. Given that this team still does not have a real point guard, they must act with more urgency and effectuate that much-needed change. There is also the deadline for signing players in the buyout to watch out for.
The 76ers, when healthy, have a good chance of surprising everyone with a deep playoff run. But little things such as not having a real point guard — even off the bench — could spell the difference between them having enough weapons to be a real playoff threat and getting all spent and exhausted before the postseason even begins due to their lack of depth.