Sixers' missing ingredient is simple: Shooters
They could address the need in the draft (Markelle Fultz? Malik Monk?) or through free agency.
The reshaping of the 76ers is simple.
Even casual basketball fans realize the Sixers need shooters. They need guys who can make open shots. They need guys capable of stretching defenses and creating space for Joel Embiid by consistently knocking down long-range shots.
"That's kind of the bottom line," coach Brett Brown said of the need for shooters. "We need to get Ben Simmons the ball. We need to have Joel be Joel and get a bunch of shooters around them."
The Sixers (28-53) made a franchise record 824 three-pointers this season. However, they ranked 25th out of the NBA's 30 teams in three-point percentage at 34.0 heading into Tuesday's games.
Reserve center Shawn Long is shooting 41.2 percent on three-pointers, but he has attempted only 17 while playing in just 17 games. The NBA only recognizes players who have played in 70 percent of their team's games.
So Nik Stauskas is regarded as the team's top three-point shooter at 36.8 percent. And he was ranked just 75th in the league.
The other Sixers ranked in the top 165 were Sergio Rodriguez (36.5 percent, tied for 82nd), Gerald Henderson (35.3 percent, 110th), Robert Covington (33.3 percent, tied for 138th), Dario Saric (31.1, 159th), and Justin Anderson (28.9, 163rd). Saric's and Anderson's percentages are far from something to brag about.
Anderson is shooting just 26.5 percent in 23 games with the Sixers since he was acquired in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 23.
And there's a chance that Rodriguez and Henderson won't be on the roster next season.
Rodriguez becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Henderson, who is battling a sore hip, will do the same if the Sixers don't pick up his team option.
"This whole thing is going to be very much judged in regards to our successes if we can have the shooting around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid," Brown said.
The Sixers will try to take care of some of that in the June 22 draft. They will try to address it some more through free agency. And the Sixers hope to solve some of it by developing their returning players into better three-point shooters over the summer.
"We need to get him next year to 35 [percent]," Brown said of Saric, "and it's in him."
Point guard Markelle Fultz of Washington and shooting guard Malik Monk of Kentucky are the Sixers' best options in regards to adding a perimeter shooter in the draft.
Fultz is extremely versatile. He can score and create opportunities for others. His first step is lighting quick and he changes directions with ease. The Maryland native also can pull up and shoot the three-pointer. He made 41.3 percent of his shots from the college three-point range.
The only question mark is his ability to play alongside Simmons. Both players thrive with the ball in their hands. Fultz probably won't handle the ball as much as he's accustomed to if he plays alongside Simmons, who will assume the point guard duties.
It might not matter anyway. The Sixers most likely will have to secure a top-two pick in the May 16 draft lottery to be in position to select Fultz. Most mock drafts have the 6-foot-4, 195-pounder being selected in the first two picks.
The Sixers are assured of getting a top-eight pick because they'll finish the regular season with one of the league's five worst records.
That should enable them to be in position to select Monk. While undersize at 6-3, the shooting guard is one of the best scorers in the draft class. He doesn't need the ball to be effective. Monk excels at coming off screens. He shot 39.7 percent on three-pointers and came up big in the clutch.
Small forward Otto Porter of the Washington Wizards would be a good match for the Sixers. He was the league's fifth-best three-pointer at 43.7 percent heading into Tuesday's game. Porter will become a restricted free agent this summer. The Sixers could offer him a lucrative salary, but the Wizards will mostly match any offer he gets. So don't expect to see him in a Sixers uniform.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who's shooting 41.5 percent on three-pointers, is another solid free-agent target. The North Philly native and former standout at Villanova and Cardinal Dougherty High will opt out of the final year of his contract with Toronto this summer.
So this will be an interesting summer to see what players the Sixers are able to pair with Simmons and Embiid.
@PompeyOnSixers