Philadelphia 76ers: Is Willie Cauley-Stein going to get a chance to play?

Willie Cauley-Stein has officially been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for three days.

Over that period of time, Cauley-Stein was able to join the team in Minnesota, rapidly form on-the-fly connections with his new teammates, and has been eligible to appear in two games alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and company.

And yet, WCS has played exactly 4:25 of incredibly inconsequential basketball in his Sixers debut and was held out of the team’s 125-109 win over the New York Knicks entirely despite Paul Millsap once again looking ill-equipped to play consequential minutes at backup center.

What gives? Why would the Philadelphia 76ers sign Willie Cauley-Stein if they were going to give him an on-court audition?

The Philadelphia 76ers need to see if WCS can actually go.

What makes a good backup center to pair up with James Harden when Joel Embiid needs some rest?

Well, for one thing, they need to be athletic enough to run up and down the court off a fast. Harden throws a Josh Allen-esque deep ball and needs a lob threat who can cash ‘um in for a quick two points. Ideally, the Sixers would also like to land a savvy off-ball mover who is equally adept at setting screens as he is switch on defense.

Oh yeah, and ideally, the player in question would have some swag to his game and help you swing momentum by putting some sizzle on the steak.

Now you tell me, was there any player on the open market three days ago who fit that bill better than Willie Cauley-Stein? The sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, WCS has recorded a positive Defensive RAPTOR rating in each of his last four seasons, has ranked in the 60th or higher percentile as a pick-and-roll screener from 2018-21, and has dozens of tattoos of varying colors, locations, and designs.

Granted, Cauley-Stein isn’t perfect. He doesn’t really provide much production on the offensive end of the court – he has averaged 5.6 points per game since 2019 – and he’s far from a threat to connect from beyond the arc, but goodness, after watching Paul Millsap fail to secure rebounds at both ends of the court because of his height and lack of hops, handing WCS the Matisse Thybulle offensive playbook sure seems more valuable than the occasional pick-and-pop action generated by Harden’s former Brooklyn teammate.

So… why isn’t Cauley-Stein getting much run? Why not give him, say, half of the backup center minutes and allow Millsap to take some time at one of the forward spots? Millsap played alongside BBall Paul Reed in his Sixers debut, and while the duo didn’t exactly light up the plus/minus numbers against the white-hot shooting Celtics, their ability to switch defensively and cover for each other generated an intriguing look worthy of extended action. While playing Paul at backup center certainly wouldn’t hurt the Sixers’ record, as most believe he’d be a natural fit next to Harden if Doc Rivers wants to roll with a more veteran option, WCS’s game is a lot closer to Reed than Millsap and could be deployed in a similar way.

Sidebar: Doc Rivers played Georges Niang and Tobias Harris together versus the New York Knicks in a Joel Embiid/Tyrese Maxey-less lineup, and it turned out alright. If he wants to keep Millsap in the rotation, playing him alongside either forward with a true center in the paint wouldn’t be the worst idea.

By my count, there are three games left before Willie Cauley-Stein’s 10-day contract expires with the Philadelphia 76ers, a March 2nd home game against the New York Knicks, an intriguing showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and a roadie romp against the Miami Heat down in South Beach. But those games aren’t really important, as the Philadelphia 76ers have until Tuesday afternoon to decide whether or not to continue to stick with WCS or pursue another player who shakes free to fill out their roster. Ideally, a team would want as much tape as possible on such a player before committing one way or another, right?