Philadelphia 76ers Should Consider Signing Allen Crabbe

With $55 million in cap space, the Sixers could make a bit of a splash in free agency. If that’s the case, Allen Crabbe makes sense as a sharpshooting guard.

After declining to dive into the free agency pool the last three seasons under former general manager Sam Hinkie, the Philadelphia 76ers and their new regime will have a chance to sign some players to the roster with a relatively empty cap sheet.

According to Basketball Insiders, the Sixers are projected to have as much as $55.7 million in cap space, the third-most in the league behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks.

We’ve already addressed their needs — a star player and an infusion of talent in the backcourt. The first need will presumably be filled by whoever the Sixers draft with the first overall pick.

That leaves the other first-round picks and copious amounts of cap space left to fix one of the league’s worst backcourt situations.

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The one player that intrigues me in free agency  is Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe.

After two seasons behind the likes of Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, Arron Afflalo and Will Barton, Crabbe was a bright spot for Portland this season, averaging 10.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Crabbe is known for his ability to space the floor, hitting 39 percent of his three-pointers last season. At just 23 years old, Crabbe seems to be someone who’s bound to make a serious pay upgrade from $862,000 he earned in the 2015-16 season.

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With less than 3,100 combined regular-season and playoff minutes played, there’s an argument we’ve yet to see the best of Crabbe. Even while playing with two ball dominant guards in

and

, Crabbe didn’t show much as a playmaker.

His PER of 12.2 this season suggests that he doesn’t do much else outside of putting the ball in the basket.

The biggest part of Crabbe’s developing game is his defense and whether or not you think he can evolve into a “3-and-D” wing. His steal rate went up to 1.5 percent this season and based on the eye test, Crabbe seemed to be developing into a fine defender.

The upside is there for him to be a fine defender, and if he can give you value on both sides of the ball, combined with age, that’s worth millions.

The issue here is simple: The eye test fails compared to the numbers. The Blazers were two points better when Crabbe was off the floor in the regular season and that number ballooned to nine points better when Crabbe was on the bench.

In the regular season, the larger sample size, Crabbe wasn’t as bad. However, when Crabbe got more playing time against better talent, he showed that he still has work to do on defense.

If someone was going to offer Crabbe a huge payday, Philadelphia should be atop the list. Regardless if the Sixers select Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons first overall, the Sixers could use more consistent shooters on the perimeter.

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Guys like

and

have several attempts, but Crabbe, a career 38 percent shooter from beyond the arc, has the attempts and the makes most team want.

There’s one small detail that will affect his free agency — Crabbe’s status as a restricted free agent. Due to Crabbe’s status as an RFA, the Portland Trail Blazers have the ability to match any contract offer presented to Crabbe. It gives Portland a better chance to retain him in free agency.

Still, I think the Sixers should jump in with an offer starting at $13 million, but have the contract be frontloaded. Portland  will have the money to make it work, with just $56 million attached to their books this offseason.

However, with Portland in need of a rim protector, Lillard’s contract extension pushing his 2016 contract price to $21 million and McCollum eligible for an extension, the Blazers could have several big money players in place before addressing Crabbe.

The Sixers have a boatload of money with very few needs, meaning they could overpay a bit for players who fit their roster. Allen Crabbe is a good candidate to throw money at because of the combination of age, ability and upside left.

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While paying him somewhere between $13 million and $15 million would be an overpay in the first season, Crabbe’s current ability and upside as a defender could make the back end of the deal a potential steal.