With the Sixers in need of guard help and Sam Hinkie saying the team will be "discerning" in free agency, we take a look at which players they could target on the open market.
Marcus Thornton, shooting guard
Age: 28
Height: 6-4
Weight: 205
Last team: Phoenix Suns
2014-15 salary: $8,575,000
Status: Unrestricted free agent
Scouting report
Every NBA team should have a hired gun for scoring purposes. In some cases, maybe two.
Perhaps no player fits that mold more than Marcus Thornton. The 2009 second-round pick has been able to put the ball in the basket for every team he has played so far in his career ... and there have been quite a few.
Thornton has played for New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Boston and Phoenix in six seasons. He has packed his scoring punch wherever his bags have landed. Thornton has averaged double-digit points during each season except for 2014-15 when he saw his minutes dwindle to just 9.0 a game after being traded from the Celtics to the Suns.
Thornton did most of his damage during his days with the Kings. With plenty of opportunity to go around, the guard put up 21.3, 18.7 and 12.7 points per game in consecutive seasons even as he transitioned from starter to reserve.
While he's not the most efficient scorer overall (Thornton is a career 42.9 percent shooter from the field), he has shot 36.2 from three-point range and 82.8 percent from the free throw line since entering the league.
NBA
Thornton is surprisingly efficient with the ball for a free-lancing scorer with just 1.1 turnovers a night.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native won't give you much numbers-wise outside of the points column, but he does use his bulky frame to body up opponents on defense when necessary.
Projection
It can't be overstated just how bad the Sixers were on offense a season ago. They ranked 29th in scoring (92.0 points per game), 30th in shooting percentage (40.8 percent) and 29th in three-point percentage (31.8 percent).
Thornton wouldn't cure all of those woes, but he could certainly help. He's aggressive on offense, while bringing the kind of toughness and physicality that the Sixers lack in the backcourt.
With Tony Wroten still recovering from a torn ACL and the newly acquired Nik Stauskas likely needing time to get adjusted, the ever-ready Thornton could find a familiar role of hired scorer to fill the void.
The Sixers definitely shouldn't go anywhere near Thornton's previous salary mark, but if he's willing to take a deep cut to get plenty of minutes — and even more shots — both sides would be wise to at least have a conversation about joining forces.