The Philadelphia 76ers are going to be major players in the offseason frenzy as President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has plans to help the Sixers contend with the Boston Celtics in the East. He has a foundation in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and now he needs to build around them.
The biggest name on the market is expected to be Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George, but other names make sense if the Sixers cannot bring him to Philadelphia.
One of them is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. A 2-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, the Sixers are “weighing” a run at KCP per Marc Stein.
So the question then becomes what would Caldwell-Pope bring to the Sixers? For one, he brings 3-point accuracy which is paramount for Philadelphia as the floor needs to be spaced for Embiid to operate. KCP shot 40.6% from deep in the 2023-24 season on 4.1 attempts per game. In the 2021-22 season with the Washington Wizards, he took 5.3 attempts per game from deep and drilled 39% of them.
He is a guy who also understands his role. Caldwell-Pope has experience playing with stars such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis while with the Lakers and he also played with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Denver. Therefore, he has an idea of how to play with dominant players such as Embiid and Maxey which is to knock down an open 3 and make the little plays on both ends of the floor.
Morey and the Sixers need a wing player that can produce on both ends of the floor in the high pressure situations of the postseason. Caldwell-Pope fits that mold with averages 10.1 points and a 36.5% shooting percentage from deep in his playoff career. He was a starter on the two title teams he played for and was a 3-and-D player for those teams.
The Sixers should absolutely target George first and foremost. If he can be brought to Philadelphia, then that should be the move. However, a guy like KCP fits exactly what the Sixers are looking for as somebody who can play the wing and give Philadelphia a reliable player in the playoffs. He has proven that in his entire career.
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