Well, looks like Philadelphia 76ers fans will be getting something under their tree tomorrow morning besides a temporary reprieve from Sixers basketball after all. A number of sources reported earlier this afternoon that the Sixers are in the process of making a deal for Ish Smith, esteemed Veteran Point Guard who briefly helped Philly manage some semblance of a half-court offense in the second half of last season. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo says the deal is for two future second-round picks.
There are many interesting implications of the deal, the first and foremost of course being that it marks the first deal of the Sam Hinkie era in which future assets are being exchanged for immediate on-court improvements. Of course, on those grounds, it's hardly a KG-to-Boston blockbuster — just a couple future second-rounders, pegged by Derek Bodner as Denver's second-rounder in next year's draft and our own second-rounder in 2017. But it's the sort of deal that would've been absolutely unimaginable from Our Dark Lord just two months ago, one that sacrifices legitimate building assets — however marginal — for a player who, in all likelihood, won't even be here in a couple years' time.
But of course, there's a whole lot about this team that would've been unimaginable just two months ago. Not just the 1-30 record, but the way they're getting absolutely trounced on a nightly basis, the way their player development seems to have stagnated, the way they finally have their full complement of players and still appear to be further behind the 8-ball than ever. It's easy to view this move as the beginning of new team advisor Jerry Colangelo wrestling control from Hinkie, but fact of the matter is, it's entirely likely Hinkie would be starting to nudge the team in this direction even without the intervention of Colangelo, owner Josh Harris, commissioner Adam Silver, or whoever else we want to imagine is now pulling the strings for the Ballers behind the scenes. There's still 51 games left in the season, and as much as we'd like to, we can't fast forward through them, and we can't pretend they don't matter — this team needs to get better this season, and if the team can make low-leverage moves to help that happen, it's incumbent upon them to do so.
Now is this the move that's gonna reverse the team's momentum? I mean, not definitely. Ish Smith was very nice for the Sixers last year, averaging 12 points and six assists, developing a nice chemistry with a budding Nerlens Noel, and leading them to five wins in the month of March — a Warriors-worthy stretch by Sixers standards. He's been even better this season for the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 14 and nine per 36, with an assist/TO ratio over three and the highest PER (17.0) of his career. But defensive concerns and a glut of ball-handlers in New Orleans (including our old bud Jrue Holiday) have eaten into his playing time, and after going scoreless in under six minutes of PT in four of his last five games, he's apparently been deemed expendable.
It's fair to question if he'll be that much of an upgrade for the Sixers at the point, where they already had four other candidates for the position, including two still working their way back to full health. But Smith has an ability none of the other four currently possess — he can get past the first line of defense, and then either attack the rim or drop off (or kick out) to a teammate. It would help if he could shoot too (he can't, at least not from range), but merely adding the element of penetration, which forces the defense to scramble at least a little bit in coverage, should be enormous for this team. It also means Kendall Marshall can return to the reserve role he's probably more equipped for, that T.J. McConnell can just be an emergency change-of-pace option off the bench, and that Isaiah Canaan can hopefully move off the ball for good.
If you're wondering why I didn't mention Tony Wroten in that current rundown of point guards, it's because it appears he will no longer be the Sixers' concern. Spears also reports that Philly will be releasing Wroten to make room for Smith — another move that would've seemed shockingly short-sighted a month or so ago, but which is kinda hard to get upset about right now. Wroten has been absolutely awful this season, with 29 turnover and 22 FGs, and while you expected a period of struggle as he returned to form from his ACL injury and subsequent time off, the fact that he seemed unable to adjust his play in the slightest from his typical "hurl self towards basket at all costs" gameplan hardly inspired confidence he'd be able to find his way back on this terrible Sixers team. His contract is up this summer, and the Sixers were unlikely to re-sign him. It hurts to lose him for nothing, but it just wasn't going to happen with us and Tony this season.
Many of us wondered why we didn't make efforts to retain Ish in the first place this offseason, and now the only reason seems to be general arrogance — or at the very least, misplaced confidence. Hinkie has admitted his mistake in assuming that Marshall would be healthy to start the season as our PG1, and frankly, watching him play these first few weeks, Hinkie's error may have been twofold in assuming that a healthy Marshall would've been much of a difference maker right away. Now Ish is back, and the price for our previous hubris seems to be those two draft picks. It's a marginal penalty — you can probably count the number of instances in NBA history on one hand that a team has come to deeply regret trading a second-rounder of any kind — but considering the players the Sixers have traded for little more than second-rounders in the past, and how high those picks are likely to be coming from the Nuggets and Sixers, it's not nothing. It's a meaningful forfeit, in terms both practical and symbolic, and it certainly leads one to wonder what further moves may follow in its stead.
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But in any event, welcome back, Ish Smith, and best of luck, Tony Wroten. Ideally, this trade lessens the load on Brett Brown, gets Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington back on track, helps Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas' development, makes the on-court product more watchable, and maybe even gets the team another W or two before this time January. Tall order for a 27-year-old journeyman PG just deemed superfluous by a 9-19 team, but lord knows our savior wasn't coming internally anytime soon. Ish helped turn around the Sixers season once before, maybe he can do it a second time. And if not, well, at least it's reason for some degree of hope this holiday season.