The Philadelphia 76ers recently made the decision to send rookie guard Labaron Philon Jr. to the G League with the Delaware Blue Coats. In his debut, he looked pretty solid, registering 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. While they lost big to their opponents, he played well while still adjusting to a new environment. That being said, he was far from efficient from the field, draining just seven of his 18 shots overall.
A talented scoring guard out of Alabama, the 76ers drafted Philon to help abate their anemic scoring of the bench, which has persisted through the years. Unfortunately, he was far too inefficient as a shot creator for the veteran squad to have him plugged in as part of the rotation. As such, he has seen very minimal time so far in his rookie campaign.
Labaron Philon has to be more efficient for the 76ers to keep him out
In dire need of more reps, Philly assigned him to the G League. After all, he was simply not going to crack a rotation filled with All-Stars and veteran contributors. This might be a technical demotion, but the young guard certainly needs this opportunity to keep his development running while he learns the ropes of what it takes to be a guard on a winning team.
Of course, Philon would love to see his growth accelerate, and the best way for him to do that is to fare well in the G League enough for the 76ers to give him actual playing time. But for the team to make that decision, he will first have to prove that he is over his problems when it comes to shooting the rock more efficiently.
Not to sound condescending, but the G League obviously touts inferior competition compared to the NBA. Hence, if Philon cannot shoot the rock efficiently against lesser-quality counterparts, he will have a tough time getting called on to play for the 76ers consistently.
Well, Labaron Philon has no choice but to continue working to prove to the 76ers that he is too good to stay out of the G League in the future. He has been recalled, but a future assignment isn't out of the question.
For now, it is crystal clear that he falls squarely within the domain of the developmental league, given where he is in his development. He is more than talented enough to stay out of that situation, but as a highly touted scorer, being efficient from the field will be of paramount importance before things reach that point.
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