Philadelphia 76ers: T.J. McConnell is an ideal Furkan Korkmaz trade target

In a massive offseason dump of information, the likes of which is borderline unprecedented in recent memory, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey delivered a sort of offseason dossier loaded with interesting information on the Philadelphia 76ers.

James Harden’s player option? Picked up. Tobias Harris? On the block.

And as for Shake Milton’s team option, a $1.9 million guarantee that many a fan assumed was borderline automatic? Well, Pompey’s sources believe that might not be the case, and the SMU product could find himself traded to get something for nothing.

But tucked in that massive dump of information was a small though incredibly intriguing nugget of information about the Indiana Pacers’ interest in acquiring Furkan Korkmaz at the 2022 NBA trade deadline. If that interest remains, there’s a certain former member of the Philadelphia 76ers that Daryl Morey may want to inquire about, as he’s both a homegrown prospect and the sort of defensive pest Joel Embiid wants to play with.

Could “The People’s Champ” be headed back to the Philadelphia 76ers?

The Indianapolis Pacers want to get younger and are reportedly willing to move Myles Turner, who is only 26, in order to fully embrace building around their new franchise cornerstone, Tyrese Haliburton, at least according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.

Surprising? You bet; after trading Domantas Sabonis at the 2022 NBA trade deadline, many assumed that the Pacers’ logjam had cleared up and that Turner would be their guy moving forward, but maybe that isn’t the case. Maybe the Pacers really do have a long-term plan, and, after already trading away Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb, the purge of veterans for younger alternatives is the route the Pacers intend to take.

If that’s the case and the Pacers remain interested in Furkan Korkmaz, the 6-foot-7 wing who doesn’t turn 25 until July 24th, there aren’t that many veteran players left on Indiana’s roster who could be moved. Buddy Hield would likely cost a pretty penny, and any player on a rookie contract is likely off the board entirely.

Fortunately, there is one vet left on the Pacers’ roster who would be a very intriguing fit on the Sixers indeed; a player fans already love wholeheartedly: T.J. McConnell.

Yes, Timothy John McConnell, the 6-foot-1 point guard who beat out a loaded field to make the Sixers’ roster as a UDFA in 2015 and delivered some of the brightest moments of the late-“Process” era of Philadelphia basketball. Though he missed most of the 2021-22 season with a seemingly season-ending wrist injury that required surgery, McConnell made it back onto the court for the final three games of the season for no reason other than to compete, and compete he did, putting up 9.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

If Joel Embiid wants a junkyard dog who is willing to pick up full court, fight for steals and just generally make opposing ball handlers uncomfortable, McConnell is a much cheaper, though similarly effective alternative to Patrick Beverley with built-in relationships with a few players who are still left on the team from the 2018-19 run.

Play him next to James Harden as a facilitating point guard, play him with Tyrese Maxey in a dynamic, pass-heavy pairing, or play him with Embiid in a bench-only lineup focused on dominating the paint; McConnell is a professional point guard who knows how to get people the ball where they need it to succeed.

Now granted, McConnell for Korkmaz can’t be done straight up from a financial standpoint. McConnell makes $3.1 million more than Korkmaz and thus, the team would need to add another player to get a deal done. Fortunately, if the Sixers do want to move off of Shake Milton – which feels like a bad idea – including his contract in a deal alongside Korkmaz for McConnell makes the money work and would likely be enough value to get a deal done.

T.J. McConnell isn’t a fit on every team. He didn’t really work on the same roster as Ben Simmons and was allowed to leave as a result despite being the epitome of an “All-Heart” bench performer. But now that the Philadelphia 76ers’ three best players are a center and two scoring guards, bringing in a traditional point guard who will do all of the little things to succeed is a pretty good idea if the money-asset value is right. The only problem? Tobias Harris took McConnell’s old number, invalidating potentially millions of jerseys waiting in a closet for a rainy day. Fortunately, if Keith Pompey’s suggestion holds true, that might not be a problem for too long.