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There was a spark of unhappiness across Philadelphia 76ers’ fans following the decision to release Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey shortly before the season kicked off. Both young players had shown signs of life in their opportunities with the Sixers and have proven why fans were excited due to the impact they are making with their new teams. Bassey has played himself into the backup center role on the San Antonio Spurs and is averaging 6.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1,9 assists, and 1.2 blocks. He also recently set an NBA record by becoming the first bench player and the second in NBA history to tally 14 rebounds, four blocks, and four assists in less than 20 minutes of game time.
While Joe has not fully secured his spot in the rotation, the signs of life have been there within his game. He recently scored a career-high 21 points against the Nuggets while shooting 7-10 on three-point attempts. This strong performance caught the attention of his former Sixers teammate, Georges Niang, who took to his Instagram story to show some love.
Joe’s String of Strong Play
Through the 13 games he has played with the Thunder, Joe is averaging 4.6 points and 1.2 rebounds in his 7.1 minutes per game. The Arkansas product’s long-range ability continues to prove to be a major weapon with Oklahoma City relying on him to provide a spark when the team needs it. Joe has connected on two or more three-pointers in four games already this season.
His performance against the Nuggets has been especially noteworthy with it likely being the best game of his professional career. Joe was a team-high +17 in the matchup and played 20:52 time on the court. Two of his seven three-pointers occurred in the fourth quarter including one with 1:58 remaining in the game to put the Thunder up by four points. He also hit one with 36 seconds remaining in overtime to pull Oklahoma City within two points. The Nuggets ultimately pulled out the victory by a score of 131-126, but Joe more than played his role in the matchup.
Sixers Failure to Develop Young Talent
While it is great to see these young players succeeding in their new landing spots, it is further evidence of the Sixers’ lack of success when developing young players. While this is oftentimes brought up in jest of Doc Rivers’ rotations or overall substitution decisions, this is something the franchise must change.
Having high-impact players on cost-controlled contracts is important to navigating the salary cap while putting forth a competitive roster. Tyrese Maxey has been the lone exception to this rule as he is outplaying his contract in a major way. However, it should also be noted that his growth was a result of playtime due to Ben Simmons’ holdout and not directly as good faith the Maxey’s play.
This has also been seen in the lack of development with players like Paul Reed and Jaden Springer. While Reed finally looks to have the inside track on the backup center job, this is not until after the Sixers ran through a seemingly endless group of veterans on the last leg of their career. Springer was expected to be a project when the Sixers selected him the with 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft. However, now a season and a half into his professional career, he has played a total of just 10 minutes at the NBA level. These types of project players surely are not ready to contribute to a playoff rotation, but failure to find any opportunity has not been beneficial to their growth.
The Sixers’ win-now intentions make this complicated but not impossible. Having players like Joe and Bassey in the rotation on their rookie deals rather than paying $4.1 million for Danuel House Jr. is the type of stuff that separates great organizations from the mediocre. Rivers’ tendency to play veterans paired with the Sixers’ desire to compete now has made this necessary, but the lack of young talent and draft picks is a cause of concern moving forward.
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