The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t made any moves yet as the trade deadline approaches in a few days, but they should likely make at least one deal. The roster still has some holes to fill, one of which is something they can easily address if they dig deep into the market: three-point shooting.
Unfortunately for them, someone else already came along to trade for one of the less cheap marksmen in the game. As reported, the Portland Trail Blazers received Vit Krejci from the Atlanta Hawks for Duop Reath and a pair of second-round picks, making the former one of the more lethal snipers in the league for essentially big change.
Despite having one of the talented offensive cores in the NBA, the 76ers have not fared as well as they should have given their high-powered roster due to their below-average three-point shooting as a collective. That’s been the case for them since last season, and if they want to make a deep playoff run, bolstering their perimeter prowess is imperative.
The 76ers could have inquired about Vit Krejci on the trade market
The 76ers are in the bottom half of the league in all three-point shooting statistics of attempts, makes and success rate. As such, they could have at least tried to make a move for Krejci, who had a career year for the Hawks this season.
The Czech guard is averaging nine points per game for Atlanta in the current season, draining 2.2 threes per night on 42.3 percent shooting from Rainbow Country. He has emerged as a solid motion shooter with his uncanny ability to hit threes on the move and without moving the ball by constantly moving to get on the receiving end of good passing angles.
At 6-foot-1, he is also one of the tallest guards in the league. The 76ers could have benefited greatly from the added size, aside from his stellar three-point shooting.
Big guards who can hit threes at high volume normally cost a lot to acquire, so the fact that Portland didn’t have to part with something of real and immediate value is a huge win for them. As such, it’s easy to see that this is a missed opportunity for the 76ers’ front office to acquire a highly desirable piece that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
The 76ers still have a few days to find a potential game changer before the trade deadline. Hopefully the front office can replicate what the Blazers did and find someone who can fill some of their most pressing needs without complicating their cap situation.
#76ers #sleep #team #West #steals #muchneeded #sharpshooter