December 28, 2015
If the season ended today… Mike D’Antoni for Coach of the Year, Jerry Colangelo for Executive of the Year, and Ish Smith for All-NBA?
Not really, but the Sixers did manage to pick up their second win of the season over the weekend against the scuffling Phoenix Suns. After managing only one victory in their first 30 games, the team’s new point guard (Smith) scored 14 points and the NBA’s worst offense dropped 111 in the new offensive coordinator’s (D’Antoni) debut.
And according to John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, it was D’Antoni that wanted Smith on board:
Sources say newly hired Philadelphia 76ers lead assistant Mike D'Antoni is impressed with Smith's abilities and wanted to get him on their roster.
While it makes sense that D’Antoni was interested in the lightning quick floor general running pick-and-rolls, head coach Brett Brown did nothing but sing Smith’s praises when he was in Philly last year. I imagine he was also fully supportive of the move.
With all of the talk of the Sixers coaching staff, Phoenix’s underwent quite a bit of surgery over the weekend. The lesson is simple here, kiddies: Whatever you do, don’t lose to the Sixers.
ESPN sources say Suns are promoting Nate Bjorgken and Earl Watson to the bench and dismissing Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 28, 2015
By deciding to shake up its bench, Phoenix appears to be giving Jeff Hornacek one more chance to turn this team around
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 28, 2015
What stands out most from this move is that it represents a departure from how Sam Hinkie has run the team over the past two-and-a-half years. While the Sixers continued to pile up losses in the short term, Hinkie’s patient approach allowed him to extract extra value from almost all of his trades.
As ESPN’s Kevin Pelton writes, this deal wasn’t that. The Sixers badly needed some help now, and in their desperation, they gave up a lot for a player of Smith’s caliber:
I understand why Philadelphia made this trade. I might even have done the same thing, because the 76ers getting beaten badly on a nightly basis helps no sort of process. But make no mistake, giving up two second-round picks -- and likely two relatively valuable ones at the top of the second round -- for a point guard whom they passed on re-signing this past summer and was freely available for the veterans minimum again when he was waived at the start of the season -- is horrendous value.
Sixers coulda/shoulda just signed Ish Smith in free agency. Great deal for Pelicans getting two 2nds for him.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 24, 2015
Depending on which direction the franchise goes in the next couple of years, the Sixers’ point guard situation could become a great what-if: What if Hinkie had simply re-signed Smith after his decent showing at the end of last season? Would the Sixers, with a more capable lead guard, have been a more respectable team (and thus less of a national talking point)? Would Josh Harris have ever sought Colangelo’s help?
I’m getting ahead of myself, but the Sixers front office dynamic is fascinating. For now, Smith is the team’s starting point guard, and predictably, he received a bunch of pick-and-roll calls in the desert on Saturday. That trend should continue, starting later tonight in Utah.
While it’s easy to point to Smith’s arrival as the reason for the Sixers’ win on Saturday, this may have just been a case of some excellent shot-making. While Isaiah Canaan, Carl Landry, and Nik Stauskas led the way in this department, Smith sure made some toughies late:
Plus, Brown didn’t previously have a guard on the roster that could "walk a game down" like this:
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
