The Philadelphia 76ers finally had their indecision catch up with them, as they just squandered what might have been the simplest trade opportunity of the entire offseason. Isaiah Joe, whom the Thunder had openly made available because of their payroll constraints, was shipped to the Pistons for virtually nothing, handing the Sixers yet another major lingering question mark as the offseason gets underway.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Oklahoma City has moved Joe to Detroit in exchange for two second-round picks an incredibly modest return for a player who has established himself as one of the premier three-point shooters in the league over the past several years. This deal provides the Thunder with substantial breathing room regarding the luxury tax, as they’ve now slashed their tax penalty by a staggering $140 million when combined with the Aaron Wiggins transaction.
Turning back to the 76ers, the cost Detroit had to absorb was so negligible that virtually any team in need of perimeter shooting could have easily topped it. Philadelphia was unquestionably among those teams desperate for long-range offensive punch, yet it seems they likely never put forward a competitive offer assuming they even made one to begin with.
Philadelphia let this one slip away as Joe lands elsewhere
The 76ers hardly excelled as a three-point shooting unit this past season. They languished near the bottom of the league across nearly every perimeter shooting metric, and it was painfully obvious that the roster simply lacked reliable options who could consistently knock down open threes without becoming liabilities in other facets of the game.
That’s exactly why the newly restructured front office recently declared that shooting would be a primary area of focus this offseason. But their lack of action on this particular front involving one of the most lethal deep shooters in the game directly contradicts the soft commitment they’ve voluntarily made public.
Joe has connected on 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts since arriving in Oklahoma City. He has yet to post a single season with the Thunder where he shot below 40 percent from deep, underscoring his reliability as a perimeter marksman. Defensively, he’s more than capable of holding his ground against opposing reserves, and his time within Oklahoma City’s stout defensive system is a valuable credential in its own right.
The Sixers will find it difficult to uncover a more effective and proven answer to their outside shooting deficiencies than Joe. Perimeter shooting commands a premium in today’s NBA, and considering their former wing remains on an exceptionally team-friendly contract, the failure to bring him back only grows more painful the longer it lingers.
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