Philadelphia 76ers: Paul Reed needs to graduate in more ways than one

It’s been a big couple of days for Philadelphia 76ers draftee Paul Reed. He’s earned his Bachelor’s degree from DePaul, celebrated his 23rd birthday, and even had an impromptu party thrown by the team with many of his Sixers/Delaware Blue Coats teammates in attendance.

Set to enter the third and final year of the $3.9 million contract he signed as a second-round pick in 2020, Reed’s future is very much in his hands; if he embraces the challenge and comes back a better player, the future could be very bright, not to mention financially lucrative for the 58th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

But here’s the thing, Reed can’t will himself onto the field if his head coach feels otherwise. No matter how much bigger, a stronger, or better at shooting Reed becomes, if Doc Rivers won’t give him a long enough runway to work things out on the court, he won’t be able to prove himself worthy of a long-term spot on the team, or a lucrative extension worth $4 million per season – at least by FiveThirtyEight‘s evaluation.

https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1536792576182951937?s=20&t=nZCbxEbivLtebX8wI_12pg

No, for everyone’s sake, 2022-23 needs to be the season where Paul Reed graduates from a fun project to a legitimate role player on the Philadelphia 76ers, both as a direct backup to Joel Embiid and a situational four capable of playing alongside him.

Paul Reed needs to prove his prowess on the court for the Philadelphia 76ers.

In Delaware, Paul Reed is a bit of a legend.

He has turned in some incredible performances for the Blue Coats, led the team on multiple title runs, and brought both the G-League MVP and the G-League Rookie of the Year award back to the First State.

And yet, in Philadelphia, Reed wasn’t even a big enough star to earn a spot in the Adam Sandler movie Hustle alongside his fellow 76ers members Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle, and Tobias Harris.

But why? What did/does Reed do with the Blue Coats that hasn’t translated to the Sixers? A lot, actually.

In Delaware, Reed was a very dynamic offensive player; he scored many of his 20 points per game in the painted area, sure, but he’s also averaged three attempts from 3 per game from beyond the arc in 2021-22 and even got involved in the facilitation game too, setting up his teammates as screeners before driving to the basket for a well-placed lob. Factor in his two blocks, 1.3 steals, and 12.8 rebounds per game, and Reed looked like a legitimately talented small-ball five who could have a serious, two-way role at the NBA level.

And yet, that hasn’t happened. While Reed has been dynamic, in that his pension for big plays can galvanize his teammates and shift momentum in a major way, his role has been that of a backup five, and not even a small-ball backup five who switches on defense and allows for a fast, loose offensive identity.

If Reed is going to become the player he needs to be to have a long and successful NBA career, he’ll need to bring some of that Wilmington game across the Delaware.

Realistically, Paul Reed is probably not going to be the Philadelphia 76ers’ fifth starter moving forward. He isn’t going to be able to become a good enough shooter to play 12-16 minutes per game alongside Joel Embiid, and unless Doc Rivers staggers his minutes incredibly hard or Reed takes a Tyrese Maxey-level step forward in 2022, that probably isn’t going to change. With that being said, the Sixers can get incredible utility out of Reed’s unique game – they just need to give him the chance to do so.