Back in November, the Philadelphia 76ers had their first draft led by Daryl Morey. In doing so, he quickly reshaped the team. After a couple of trades, the Sixers suddenly found some savvy veterans on their roster. Soon after, Morey and the Sixers also seemed to have found some diamonds in the rough.
Tyrese Maxey slipped to pick 21, lighting up the eyes of Sixers’ fans everywhere. However, one of the real draft night steals may end up being the third to last pick. Rookie Paul Reed fell into the lap of Daryl Morey with the 58th overall pick.
Lighting Up Delaware
During the draft process, Reed was seen as one of the lesser polished players in the rookie class. He was projected to go early in the second round, but found himself at pick #58. The reason of this is unknown, but the Sixers for sure found themselves with a gift that late in the draft.
There’s a lot for him to work on still, but Coach Connor Johnson has been developing him nicely. After seeing the improvements of Shake Milton and Marial Shayok last season, it’s no secret that Coach Johnson and his staff have the tools to develop Reed into a serious NBA player one day.
In his three games so far with Delaware, the rookie is absolutely on a tear. Similar to Marial Shayok’s scoring last season, Reed seems to be getting his way in the paint. In his three games down in the Orlando bubble, he’s averaging nearly 25 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of work.
In comparison to the rest of league, Reed is playing like a potential G-League MVP candidate. He leads all two way players in scoring, and sits in the top five among all scorers. Along with this, he’s in the top 15 in rebounds per game, showing his dominance in the paint on both ends of the floor.
His efforts have led the Blue Coats to a 3-0 record to start their young season.
Paul Reed’s Impact on the 76ers
Reed was quickly signed to a two-way contract with hopes he could contribute with the big league team on occasion. With the G-League status still uncertain at the start of the NBA opener, Reed patiently waited to play some big league action on the Sixers’ bench. In the first six games, he failed to see the court.
However, once COVID struck many of the 76ers’ starters and key rotation players, Reed’s number was called. In back-to-back games on January 9 and 11, he was tossed into over 20 minutes of action. In those games, he totaled 12 points, 10 boards, and three assists. Defensively, the big man accumulated four blocks and a steal in his 40 total minutes of action.
It’s no secret that the rookie power forward out of DePaul is still raw. Coming out of the draft, “B-Ball Paul” was described as a lackadaisical defender, so seeing him pick up four blocks and a steal in his limited action is good to see. On the offensive side of things, he could turn out to be the floor spacing stretch four that the Sixers need. However, some of that development will need to happen.
What better place to do that at other than down on the farm with the Delaware Blue Coats?
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
