The Philadelphia 76ers are about to finish another really bad season as they may not even get into double-digits in wins. The 76ers made moves in the front office and on the coaching staff that seemed to signal they are done with tanking and ready to win now. Jerry Colangelo is now helping make decisions regarding the roster while Mike D'Antoni is an assistant coach.
One of the big moves the 76ers made in terms of players this year was trading for Ish Smith. Smith was with the 76ers for 25 games last year but signed with the Pelicans this year before being traded back to Philadelphia prior to the trade deadline.
Since coming back to Philly Smith has stabilized the point guard position and has played well overall. The 27-year-old will become a free agent this offseason and should have many more suitors than he did last year, but he would like to stay with the 76ers, and head coach Brett Brown would like to have him back.
Smith has started all 45 games since coming back to Philadelphia this year, and in those 45 games he is averaging 14.6 points, seven assists and 4.2 rebounds. Smith's shooting percentages aren't great (40 percent from the field and 32 percent from three), but that could be attributed to him having to play a much bigger role than he is really suited for.
What Smith has done in his time with the 76ers this season is show that he belongs in the NBA, and he shouldn't have to fight for a job anymore. Having said that, Smith may be better suited as a backup point guard, so the 76ers will still likely scour the point guard market this summer.
The 76ers have been linked to former Providence star Kris Dunn for quite some time, and many people think they may pick him in the upcoming draft as their point guard of the future. Also, the 76ers have shown interest in trying to acquire Hawks' backup point guard Dennis Schroder and are expected to try and do so again this offseason. There was a report that the 76ers actually tried to use Smith as one of the pieces in a potential trade with the Hawks revolving around Schroder at the trade deadline, but that never came to fruition.
The good news for both Smith and the 76ers is that it seems like they will have options this offseason. Smith isn't one of the top-tier free agents, but he has proven he can run a team and do some nice things, while the 76ers have the option of bringing him back and potentially adding another point guard via the draft, free agency or a trade.
