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5 Roster Moves The Philadelphia 76ers Need To Make

By Matthew Hallett

January 2, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts to officials while watching game action against Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 2, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown reacts to officials while watching game action against Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) smiles back at his bench as time winds down against the Phoenix Suns at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 113-103. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) smiles back at his bench as time winds down against the Phoenix Suns at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 113-103. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Improve The Point Guard Position

With absolutely no disrespect intended to Ish Smith, he is not a starting point guard in today’s NBA. However, what he did when he came back from New Orleans was give Philadelphia some structure and a dangerous scoring option who also could distribute the ball.

The two best fits for the Philadelphia point guard position in this year’s free agency are Mike Conley and Brandon Jennings.

I would prefer Conley to be the starting point at this stage of this of Philadelphia’s development. The free agent from the Memphis Grizzlies has run the grit and grind era. His ability to orchestrate the fast break or run a half court set would be valuable for this young Philadelphia team.

Also, with Conley running the point, he is unlikely to let Okafor take over the offense and have it stagnate until he made a move like he did last year.

Conley will also lead by example with his hard-nosed defense. He will not let the opposition’s ball movement be as easy as it was against last year’s Philadelphia team.

This should translate to fewer open looks and therefore lower percentage shots being taken. Hopefully this will translate to more wins for Philadelphia.

Jennings is a tougher scouting nut to crack. Since returning from his Achilles injury, Jennings has played off the bench behind Reggie Jackson while with the Detroit Pistons.

Then, when he was traded to the Orlando Magic, he came off the bench behind Elfrid Payton. Jennings has gone from averaging almost 20 points per game before his injury to less than 10 points per game now.

If Jennings had the responsibility of running a team again, I think that we would see some of his old confidence return.

Both these potential free agents would help cut down the turnovers. The Sixers were the worst in the NBA last season with 1,343 for the season. That’s just over 16 a game. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder had such a high number of turnovers (1,305) and were still successful.

Next: Draft Well