Smallwood: Richaun Holmes might be Sixers' best option to back up Joel Embiid
IF YOU GET AWAY from stuff like draft status and trying to build up value for trade purposes, the solution to who should stay with the Sixers as the backup to center Joel Embiid isn't that complicated.
IF YOU GET AWAY from stuff like draft status and trying to build up value for trade purposes, the solution to who should stay with the Sixers as the backup to center Joel Embiid isn't that complicated.
Richaun Holmes is the answer. The second-year player from Bowling Green is the ideal for what you want in a reserve big man.
At 6-10, Holmes, 23, has the height. He's only an inch shorter than both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. At 245 pounds, he's 20 pounds lighter than Okafor, which might not be a bad thing, and 25 pounds heavier than Noel, which is definitely a good thing.
To the point is that Holmes was drafted as a power forward, he has the size and the bulk to hold his own in the middle - especially with the limited minutes a backup to Embiid could reasonably expect to play.
Tuesday night, with Embiid and Okafor both out with knee soreness, Noel started and had a season-high 19 points with eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks in the Sixers' 121-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
After a four-game stint with the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Developmental League, Holmes played five minutes on Saturday at Atlanta. Those were his first NBA minutes since Dec. 12, a span of 16 Sixers games.
He had a more significant role as Noel's backup against the Clippers. Playing a little less than 19 minutes, Holmes scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
The win over the Clippers reinforced two things - first, that Noel is not being used to his full potential as a backup to Embiid, and, second, that Holmes is capable of handling the role.
"I'm always appreciative every chance I get to step on the floor, every chance to wear the Sixers jersey," Holmes said. "It's a great honor.
"Everything is opportunity. Going down (to the 87ers) was a chance to play. Coming back here was an opportunity to show what I can do, what I have worked on."
It's no secret that the Sixers have a logjam at center and that the best way to improve the team overall is addition through subtraction.
Talent is important, but having the correct mentality for the role is, too.
Holmes was drafted 37th overall in the 2015 draft - 34 spots after Okafor was picked No. 3 overall.
Noel was drafted sixth overall by New Orleans in 2013 and the Sixers traded an All-Star point guard in Jrue Holiday to acquire his rights.
Noel, 22, and Okafor, 21, are both high lottery picks on their first NBA contracts. Both left college after only one season because they envisioned themselves as NBA stars.
Playing backup to Embiid, who looks like a legitimate transformative prospect, wasn't on their personal agenda of success.
To the credit of both, they are playing good soldiers and not letting the frustration of their situation affect the growing chemistry of the team.
Still, anyone who truly believes either will be satisfied long-term with the current status is foolish.
I don't blame Okafor and Noel. They've been at the top of the hill through all levels of basketball.
I would assume both feel that it'll be just a matter of finding the right situation, so they can show that they will be star players in the NBA, just as they have been everywhere else.
Holmes doesn't come with the same expectations.
Coming out of Lockport Township (Ill.) High School, he didn't receive a Division I scholarship offer until after he had already committed to play at Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois.
He transferred to Bowling Green after being named a junior college All-America.
The Falcons play in the Mid-American Conference, which is quite different from being a top recruit at Kentucky, as Noel was, or Duke, as Okafor was.
All of this is important, because it plays into why Holmes is more suitable for backing up "The Process" than Noel or Okafor.
A player such as Holmes, who has to scrap for everything he's gotten out of the game, usually see things from a different perspective.
"You have to remember, first and foremost, that it is a blessing to be here," Holmes said. "There are countless people who want to be in your shoes.
"You're one of 450 players in this league. You just keep working and not worry about things you can't control."
Being a backup big man in the NBA can be a long and prosperous career, but there also has to be fiscal sanity.
One of the huge problems with keeping Embiid, Noel and Okafor is that it would likely mean investing close to $200 million.
You can't build a quality team when you put that much money into one position.
Holmes is making a little more than $1 million on the second year of his rookie contract. The Sixers have a team option for similar money in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
If he proves to be a quality backup, the Sixers will have to guarantee him around $40 million to $50 million at some point, but he would be an insane bargain until then.
Holmes might not have the individual upside of Noel and Okafor, but in the big picture of what the Sixers need from a backup to Embiid, he would serve the role best.
@SmallTerp