Philadelphia 76ers: Does T.J. McConnell have a future in Philly?

After falling out of Brett Brown’s playoff rotation following a lackluster Game 1, does T.J. McConnell have a future with the Philadelphia 76ers?

There are a lot of ways to describe Philadelphia 76ers backup point guard T.J. McConnell, pesky, high-motored, an ‘effort’ guy, but one word that’s simply non-applicable is unprofessional.

Initially making the team as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona in 2015, McConnell has pretty much filled every possible role on an NBA squad; from serving as a deep bench reserve as a rookie, to a solid 51 games as a starter in 2016-17, to his current gig as an on-again-off-again rotational bench piece but through it all, McConnell has remained the personification of professionalism.

Though he certainly would love to be out on the court helping his team win, especially in a hotly contested playoff series against a team like the Brooklyn Nets, the 6-foot-2 point guard has remained one of the team’s biggest champions; playing the role of cheerleader from the bench while giving it his all for grand total of 30 minutes over four games.

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No matter how you slice it, fans in the City of Brotherly Love have wholeheartedly embraced McConnell with open arms, embracing the Pittsburgh native as one of their own, but what exactly is his future with the team when his current contract expires?

Before the postseason, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that McConnell would receive some sort of extension, whether it be a one, or multiple-year extension prior to the start of free agency in July, but after falling out of Brett Brown‘s rotation against the Nets, that may not be as forgone of a conclusion as some may have initially assumed.

Now granted, part of the decision to bench McConnell could have to do with the Nets’ roster construction, as they give the lion’s share of their point guard minutes to D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie, a pair of combo guards who stand 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 respectively, but it could also be because of McConnell’s obvious physical limitations, and his poor fit on the team’s hybrid-heavy roster.

In the regular-season, McConnell made 14 3 point shots over 76 games, at a 33 percent clip. Those numbers ranked 13th and 13th respectively on the team, behind pretty much every player who gets regular minutes now.

Furthermore, because of McConnell’s height, and lack of premier athleticism, he can really only cover and play point guard, which limits his scheme flexibility while playing alongside Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and even Zhaire Smith moving forward.

While the 76ers certainly do need a small ball point guard to face off against the Toronto’s of the world, McConnell is much more of a playmaker than a traditional shooter, and as the Los Angeles Lakers so blandly highlighted this season, players like Ben Simmons (or LeBron James) need to be surrounded by players who can knock down shots at all five positions, not supplemental ball handlers.

No matter how much effort McConnell puts in after this season, he appears to be a square peg trying to fit into a highly productive round hole.

But what does that mean for his future?

Well, if the 76ers do decide to re-sign their starting trio of Butler, Tobias Harris, and J.J. Redick, in addition to reserves Mike Scott and James Ennis, the Sixers really won’t be able to add any external free agents who aren’t willing to play on either a veteran minimum deal or for their Exception.

Conventional wisdom would suggest targeting a player like Darren Collison, who knocked down an NBA leading 46.8 percent of his 3-point shots in 2017-18, but that seems all but impossible unless he’s willing to take a pay cut or one-year deal. No, if the Sixers do decide to go over the salary cap by retaining their top players, the only real way to acquire a difference maker would be through the draft, trade, or by retaining their own players; players like McConnell.

Owning his Bird Rights, which allows the team to sign a player for eight percent higher than an open market team, the Sixers do have a minor advantage in retaining McConnell if they so choose, but should they?

Probably not.

Sure, if McConnell’s market is incredibly light and he’s stuck without a team after a few days, the 76ers may decide to retain their diminutive guard on a one-year deal, but based on McConnell’s play, attitude, and efforts it’s hard to imagine that happening.

And really, that might be the best option for all parties involved.

While it would be nice to get one last dance with McConnell at the point, he’s clearly not a great fit and the Philadelphia 76ers as they are presently constructed, and would probably be better served to relocate to a new city to join a team in need of his more traditional style of play.

Retaining Mike Scott has to be a priority. dark. Next

After everything he’s done for this team throughout the ‘Process’, T.J. McConnell deserves to be in a position where he can actually reach his potential, as opposed to being shuffled in and out of rotations based on size matchups. Sometimes, moving on from a fan favorite is the best thing for all parties involved.