Instead of Kyle Lowry, how about these guys for the 76ers? | John Smallwood

The other day columnist Marcus Hayes and Sixers beat writer Keith Pompey offered dueling stories on the merits of pursuing Toronto Raptors free agent point guard Kyle Lowry.

My opinion is that if the Sixers want to add a free-agent point guard, more practical targets would be New Orleans' Jrue Holiday, Utah's George Hill or Indiana's Jeff Teague.

Certainly, the Sixers would have to overpay to get any of those players, but because of circumstance, the Sixers will have to overpay to get any decent free agent.

The benefit of Hill, Holiday or Teague, however, is that none is likely to command maximum contract offers on the open market as Lowry will.
That's important to the Sixers because if redshirt rookie Ben Simmons does become the lead guard or the Sixers use a top-five pick in the 2017 draft on a point guard such as Washington's Markelle Fultz, UCLA's Lonzo Ball of UCLA or Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox, they have a max-contract free agent moved into an auxiliary role.

That's how the Sixers must approach any move they make in free agency.
The Sixers should consider one of two things in free agency: Is the player young enough to still be viable when the players on the roster begin to realize their potential, or is he a veteran player who can help the development process move at a positive pace.

With that in mind, here are a few below-the-radar free agents the Sixers should consider making a serious push for – and yes, that means overpaying if that's what it takes to get a deal done.

J.J. Redick, shooting guard: Before he became famous as the father of two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, Dell Curry had a 16-year career as an NBA player. Stephen Curry wasn't born with that sweet stroke. It was taught to him by his father, who shot 45.7 percent for his career and 40.2 percent on three-pointers.

The shooting is always the last thing to go. Redick will be 33 when the 2017-18 season begins, but he can still shoot from range. Of the players who attempted more than 450 three-pointers during the regular season, Redick led all by making 42.9 percent.

As either starting or coming off the bench, Redick is the type of shooter who can provide the spacing for the Sixers big men to operate more effectively, which will help their development.

Having a veteran shooter such as Redick would also relieve the pressure on the 2017 first-round draft pick to step in as a big-time shooter right away.

Redick is a professional who has the reputation of being good in the locker room. He made $7.3 million this past season with the Los Angeles Clippers and has earned $55.9 million in his career.

The Sixers might not get value toward the end of a four-year, $40 million to $45 million contract offer, but Redick is the type of veteran whose immediate impact on the growth of the program would be worth that.

Danilo Gallinari, small forward: Because he's been around so long, people forget Gallinari won't be 29 until Aug. 8. He's played more than 70 games only twice in his eight NBA seasons, so injury is always a question.

Still, Gallinari has averaged over 18 points the last two seasons and, should he opt out of his contract with Denver, he'll likely be the third-best free-agent small forward, behind Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward.

Gallinari is an efficient scorer, as he averaged fewer than 12 shots a game, with nearly half being three-pointers. He also averaged 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
If the Sixers could count on Gallinari to play 75 games a season, he would be worth the money it would take to sign him. That's a big if, however.

Shabazz Muhammad, swing man: If you appreciate the dilemma the Sixers had in dealing with their multitude of young big men, then you can understand the situation Muhammad has in Minnesota.

When both are healthy, small forward Andrew Wiggins and shooting guard Zach LaVine averaged 37 minutes for the Wolves. They, along with center Karl-Anthony Towns, are the future in Minnesota.

Muhammad, 24, is likely looking for a place where he can play a bigger role. The questions are, what can he do in a bigger role, and how much is a team willing to pay to find out?

Because Muhammad is a restricted free agent, the Sixers would likely have to make a strong offer to keep Minnesota from matching.

Do they want to do that?

If Muhammad is just blocked in Minnesota, he'd fit in with what the Sixers are looking to do. If, however, he is just a nine-points-a-game scorer, they would be locked into a bad contract.