Philadelphia 76ers: Monte Morris and Will Barton aren’t ideal trade targets
The Philadelphia 76ers need some juice.
They need, at minimum, another player to soak up meaningful snaps at small forward and could use some 3-and-D depth coming off the bench too, especially if they are on the bigger and end of the spectrum or have a proven pedigree as a plus rebounder.
What don’t the Sixers need? Well, they’re pretty well stocked at center and would be borderline crazy to invest another roster spot – or, heavens forbid, two – on an over-the-hill big who will tempt Doc Rivers to take out Paul Reed whenever he gets into foul trouble. They also have a pretty intriguing collection of backcourt ball handlers who can score off of their own dribble and distribute a bit to their teammates.
And yet, when rumors bubble up that players like Monte Morris and Will Barton, two key cogs in the Denver Nuggets’ offensive machine, are available, it’s understandable that folks will start to wonder “what if” and hypothesize about potential packages.
Could the Philadelphia 76ers trade for Morris and/or Barton? Sure, the team has shown interest in Barton in the past, and the 6-foot-6 swingman presents quite a bit of intrigue, but considering the team’s current asset pool, it’s probably not the choice avenue of asset allocation.
The Philadelphia 76ers should target two-way wings, not scoring guards.
On paper, both Monte Morris and Will Barton are very good players. Both can play on-ball and off, both can space the floor from 3, and both can add utility as a secondary or even occasionally as a primary ball-handler.
For a team looking for guard help, Morris is a very intriguing option indeed, especially with a solid two-guard already locked up. He’s been an above-average marksman from beyond the arc, having hit 39.5 percent of his 4.2 attempts per game from 3 as a full-time starter in 2021-22, and he set a new career-high in assists per game at 4.4, which is very good indeed for a guard playing off of Nikola Jokic.
And as for Barton? Well, he can play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward and do a little bit of everything on the offensive end of the court, from shooting to slashing and even assisting on 3.9 shots per game. Factor in his rebounding abilities, having collected an average of 4.8 boards per game last season, and the prospects of slotting in Barton… somewhere, be that in the frontcourt, the backcourt, or coming off the bench, just makes sense for a good number of teams across the NBA.
Unfortunately, the Sixers aren’t one of the teams who should be interested in either Morris or Barton, as neither are particularly good defenders, and stranding them on an island off-ball would be a waste of their talents… not to mention the assets required to acquire them.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Morris and Barton haven’t had a positive Defensive Raptor raring over a full season since 2019-20, with only two positive ratings on the former’s resume and three on the latter’s. Looking at the defensive box plus/minus stat instead, the most recent positive season recorded by either player was done by Morris back in 2018-19, with the duo consistently ranked near the bottom of the Nuggets’ defensive hierarchy ever since.
No, the reason the Nuggets are looking to move on from Morris and Barton is to improve their two-way production with more talented 3-and-D roleplayers, which, *spoiler alert* is the Sixers’ biggest need too.
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Of the players who have been fixtures of the Denver Nuggets’ roster over the past few seasons, Gary Harris, not Will Barton or Monte Morris, would have theoretically made the most sense for the Philadelphia 76ers via trade. Harris can hit open 3s, play strong defense, and, despite a dip in production from 2019-21, looked pretty darn good in an Orlando Magic uniform in 2021-22. Fortunately, Harris is slated to become a free agent and could theoretically be signed using the MLE. Better to focus on a player like Harris than exchange meaningful assets for players like Barton and Morris, who are fun to watch indeed but aren’t quite what the team needs.