I usually avoid opinions these days, but when I saw the news that DeAndre Jordan was being chased by the Sixers, it worried me, maybe more than it should have. I have a problem with it, but not necessarily for reasons you might think at first.
When the news of Jordan’s pursuit of the Sixers came, it puzzled me. Of course, Jordan is an NBA veteran, and that’s what the Sixers have reportedly been on the market for: a big one that can set screens and catch lobes. This, in theory, is true. However, Jordan is at the end of his career and it can be said that he should have been out of the NBA for two or three years.
Let me say that Jordan himself is not what I have a problem with with these rumors. I understand that Doc Rivers may not trust Charles Bassie, a rookie, to support Embiid for a potential championship. I realized that Paul Reed had his ups and downs this season. I also understand that Paul Milsap, who is 37 years old and 6 feet 7, is probably not the answer either. Willie Cowley-Stein has not played an NBA game in months.
My problems stem from what the Sixers didn’t do, not what they could do. Let me explain.
When the Sixers swapped Andre Drummond, it left me with a bit of personal excitement. There was nothing against Drummond, who was really good at his role for the team. In fact, I think most Sixers fans can honestly say they miss it. Personally, I was thrilled to see that Reed was given a chance with a new opportunity. James Harden had a history of centering around him, and I thought Paul might be the man to be given some time.
We had a chance to see Reed in action at different times of the season, where he showed some impressive flashes. One of the most important moments for him was to compete against Demar DeRozan and Janis Adetokunmpo when the Sixers had problems with COVID. He didn’t stop them in any way, but he stayed in front of them and made them work for their staff – which is all you can ask for.
We had a chance to see Reed run shortly after the trading deadline, playing a combined 34 minutes in three games. There were mixed results, but the small sample size showed some acceptable minutes, which led to some intrigue. Harden, as you all know, was not available for these games with a hamstring injury. It wasn’t until the All Star break that we even managed to see Harden on the floor with one of the Sixers’ backups.
Scroll forward so far, and it’s obvious that we’ll just never see Harden and Reed play a minute of basketball together, at least for this season – which I just don’t understand at all.
Harden works best with large rims that can place screens and roll hard toward the rim; a mold that fits all Bassey, Reed and Cauley-Stein. So why not give them a chance? After all, these next 20 or more Sixers games are experimenting on the go to see what works best for this team before the postseason. The Sixers lacked a long-term response to the position of reserve center for the entire Embiid era in Philadelphia, and it seems that this problem will remain after this season.
The lack of Reed’s situation has nuances of Richan Holmes’ time in Philly when he was Sixer. Holmes showed flashes, but never got the chance to really solidify his role with the Sixers before being changed for financial reasons. He has since proven himself and recently signed a major expansion with the Kings. I’m not saying Reed is the next Holmes. Nothing is a given and it is far from guaranteed that Reed or any of the current centers on the list can provide average minutes at best.
Here’s what I mean: I would say that not having an answer is worse than having a bad answer to the Sixers’ big backup situation. Having three or four question marks behind Embiid is a serious concern.
It’s one thing if the Sixers play Reed or one of the big ones and it just doesn’t work out. Then I think signing Jordan or some other veteran center is very justified. However, Reed defended himself every time he was on the court this season. The minutes, though inconsistent, were not a nightmare – and that in itself is worth a look if you’re trying to find a long-term answer behind Embiid.
One of Reid’s biggest reasons for not being on the court was that the Sixers had to leave room for Simmons, who is long gone. Reed’s offense is still very gross, but he is more than capable of adjusting screens and catching lobes. The bar is significantly reduced in terms of what is required of him.
Now it looks like the Sixers will eventually sign Deandre Jordan, making him the fifth center on the team’s roster. The use of five places on the full-time list of four centers with huge question marks hanging over their heads is a huge concern for any struggling team – especially considering that there are other holes in this list of Sixers that could be overcome.
Although I’m not in the mood for it, I hope I’m wrong about Jordan. Harden has a history of raising his teammates and this may be the case with Jordan. He also spent his best years under Doc Rivers, albeit a few years ago. The signatures of Dwight Howard and Andre Drumman initially raised some questions, and they were fine. These are all fair points.
Jordan will probably have an average of only ten or fifteen minutes at most in the post-season, and all these minutes will probably be next to James Harden. If Jordan plays acceptable defense, sets up screens and catches a lobe or two, it won’t be a big deal.
However, if the Sixers get DeAndre Jordan, who has been negatively labeled by NBA fans and analysts over the past few years, things could get ugly quickly. If that happens, the Sixers won’t have an answer in their highlights because they just chose not to find it.