After suffering an early exit from the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers have some soul-searching to do, and that includes the front office.
Right now, the Sixers have a lop-sided roster that boasts multiple offensive weapons that can’t defend, and defensive weapons that can’t score – there’s no cohesion in the way the team has been constructed.
The upcoming off-season is a chance to rectify those issues and put the Sixers back on track to challenge for a championship in the coming years, with next season being the ideal time to start. As such, we’re likely to see a significant amount of overhaul in the coming months, although most of it will probably be around the fringes of the rotation.
Still, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, John Wall could be a good starting point for the Sixers, should the Houston Rockets buy him out of his contract.
“If Wall is willing to embrace a six-man type of role at this point in his career, he should be somebody the Sixers look at as question marks surround Shake Milton and the rest of the reserve guards in Philly. So far, though, only two teams have been linked to Wall, as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat have been suggested as “strong potential landing spots” for Wall,” Fischer wrote in a recent article.
Does Wall Make Sense?
Assuming Wall accepts a bench role, his skill set should translate toward helping the Sixers win basketball games. The veteran guard might not have been in the Rockets rotation this past season, but that’s because they’re a young, rebuilding roster who were looking to give increased playing time to their new core group.
Worst contracts in the league:
Russell Westbrook: Lakers played him and were a complete disaster (stupid)
John Wall: Rockets benched him to
tank (smart)
Kristaps Porzingas: Mavs dumped him for Dinwiddie and Bertans (smart)
Tobias Harris: Sixers refuse to trade him (stupid)
We saw a similar outcome for Al Horford, now with the Boston Celtics, during the 2020-21 NBA season, where the Oklahoma City Thunder chose to sit him for most of the season so that they could focus on developing the younger talent at their disposal.
Sure, Wall has had his fair share of injury issues, but when we last saw him play he provided the Rockets with 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 40.4% from the field – so it’s clear Wall is still capable of producing high-level production when given the opportunity to do so.
What is the Down Side?
The downside, if there is any, is that Wall is a ball-dominant guard. Even in his prime, when he was playing alongside Bradley Beal, Wall was often tasked with initiating the offense, and Beal finishing the plays.
While Wall would need to accept a sixth-man role, it would be foolish to assume there wouldn’t be times where he shared the floor with James Harden, and while that may have worked three or four years ago, it doesn’t project to be a good partnership at present.
Sixers Should Sign John Wall At This Point
Harden is no longer the superstar scorer he once was and has instead become a more willing playmaker, meaning he needs the ball in his hands to be effective – so, any minutes where Harden and Wall are sharing the floor could prove problematic. But, having two ball-handlers that can create their own offense and generate easy looks for others is a good problem to have.
Of course, the Sixers might also be concerned about Wall’s ability to stay healthy, so if they were to extend a contract to him (assuming he gets brought out) we could expect it to be a one year deal with a team option for a further year – giving both parties an easy exit if things turn sour.
Overall, though, adding Wall to a Sixers bench that’s looked anemic on the offensive end this year, projects as a huge win, and should Wall find himself searching for a new team, he might not locate a better opportunity elsewhere in the league.
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Sixers Should Pursue Deal With Banished 5-Time All-Star, Says Analyst