The Sixers felt their first “come back to Earth” moment of the season with back to back losses on their West Coast trip. It was their first loss with the strength of every starter on Thursday on Portland. Then, they looked a bit lethargic in another loss to Devon Booker and a hot Suns team (no pun intended) on Saturday.
Doesn’t feel like there is any reason to all out panic. Every team seemingly struggles when they make these coast to coast trips. But without Shake Milton, their biggest weakness was revealed: bench depth.
Tyrese Maxey just isn’t “there” yet as an NBA player, which is fine given he’s 19 years old. But for a “win now” team it’s tough playing him in these crucial situations. The rest of the bench hasn’t been much help either. Matisse Thybulle is a great defender but you know his offensive limits. Furkan’s shooting percentage is down. And Dwight Howard is good for a foul every 32 seconds.
So that’s why this report from Jason Dumas is not surprising at all:
The Sixers are in the market for a point guard. Two players the team has inquired about are Detroit’s Delon Wright & Oklahoma City’s George Hill, a source tells me.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) February 15, 2021
George Hill has been a veteran guard that’s helped playoff teams in the past. He’s provided solid minutes for the Cavs after Kyrie left and most recently had a stint with the Bucks. He was averaging almost 12 points per game for the Thunder before he was sidelined with a thumb injury. Here’s why a trade with the Thunder could be realistic: their goal is widely known. Oklahoma City has very little interest in winning now, and instead are currently in the process of hoarding picks in an impressive manner. They’d more than welcome more draft capital from the Sixers after having already accepted the Al Horford contract for a future first round pick.
Delon Wright is another guard who’s bounced around. He gave the Raptors solid minutes before they went all in on Marc Gasol and Kawhi Leonard (Wright was apart of trade for Gasol). He’s playing over 30 minutes a game for Detroit. But, they recently traded Derrick Rose and today, announced they are looking for a trade partner for Blake Griffin. Another big time seller.
The Sixers trade deadline is something to keep an eye on. They are clearly contenders with a lot of teams struggling out of the gate. It will be an arms race with other contenders to bolster that bench depth at the deadline.
