76ers look to solve their 'greatest mystery,' the point guard position
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When the Philadelphia 76ers used the No. 11 pick in the 2013 draft on Michael Carter-Williams and traded Jrue Holiday for the pick that would become Nerlens Noel, the rebuilding plan seemed to be taking shape.
Noel would be the big man and Carter-Williams the lead guard, establishing themselves while the franchise continued to embrace losing to add additional pieces through the draft in the years to come. Noel missing his entire rookie season did little to change that perception, especially as Carter-Williams won the Rookie of the Year award.
If anything, the Sixers hinted Noel was the piece that may be fungible, selecting Joel Embiid third overall in 2014 (and in an epilogue, Jahlil Okafor in 2015).
But Carter-Williams' production had a "looter in the riot" underwriting, with ample opportunities and an up-tempo offense that inflated his totals to 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. He hadn't been particularly efficient, and, while he has great size for the position and is a terrific rebounder, the defensive results didn't yet match the potential.
Still, it was a strong performance, making it a bit of a surprise when Carter-Williams' name appeared in trade rumors last offseason. It was slightly less surprising, thanks to the earlier rumblings, when Carter-Williams was jettisoned in a three-team trade at the deadline. The reigning Rookie of the Year and perceived franchise point guard was off to the Milwaukee Bucks, with the Sixers receiving a Los Angeles Lakers top-five protected first-round pick (via the Phoenix Suns) in return.
Philly pulled the trigger on the trade because it saw more value in the pick, which is now top-three protected in a weaker 2016 draft, than in Carter-Williams two years into his rookie deal. Quibble with that evaluation, but Carter-Williams wasn't the Sixers' "guy" at the position, and it surely factored in that point guards are plentiful around the league. The opportunity to land a high lottery pick with higher upside and more years of control than Carter-Williams, who plays a stacked position only moderately well so far, was deemed the right move even if it would take longer to pay off.
The Sixers aren't intent on competing in 2015-16, though they're much closer now than in past seasons. The organization is still set on its long-term goals.
But for the coming season, the one-spot is an enormous question mark.
"Our greatest mystery still is who's going to be our point guard," head coach Brett Brown said Wednesday.
Philadelphia has six point guards on the training camp roster, but that doesn't necessarily make things easier. Brown wants to keep three point guards, and two of the group presumed to make the team - Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall - aren't expected to be fully recovered from season-ending knee injuries until the end of October.
Beyond those two, the team has Isaiah Canaan, a shooting guard who's too small to play there and forced to masquerade as a shoot-first, shoot-second point guard, and Pierre Jackson, who still hasn't played an NBA game two years after being drafted. College standouts but presumed NBA non-prospects Scottie Wilbekin and T.J. McConnell will be in camp on deals that aren't fully guaranteed.
While largely affable, the group doesn't have a long-term solution at the point among them.
The 22-year-old Wroten has potential as a score-first lead guard - few are better at aggressively carving into the teeth of a defense - and he improved as a playmaker before his injury, averaging 16.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 30 games.
Marshall, a 24-year-old Chipotle enthusiast, can really pass, having averaged 8.8 assists with the Lakers in 2013-14. He's also developed a reliable outside shot, making defense the primary knock against him - he's big, but he hasn't figured out how to use that effectively, yet.
The most intriguing name may be Jackson, 24 and finally freed from dominating the D-League. He suffered an Achilles injury that cost him his 2014-15 season, but the 76ers bought some loyalty by paying him and waiving him, and the high-volume scorer will now look to pay it back on a four-year deal.
Having mostly eschewed free agency once again, the Sixers appear content to see what they have in this group of young, controllable guards. In the best-case scenario, one of them establishes himself as a low-end starter or quality backup moving forward. The downside is limited, because Philly isn't ready to compete yet and doesn't seem to have an issue with continuing to churn through players in search of a diamond in the rough.
With a veritable boatload of cap space in the coming summers, the Sixers didn't need to spend on a point guard of the future here in the present, just like they didn't need to commit to Carter-Williams. The mystery at the league's easiest position to fill isn't one that needs solving. Yet.