Late morning Saturday, Dec. 9, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that guard Jaden Springer was assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats ahead of their game that very night against the Greensboro Swarm. This will be the first time this season that Springer has been assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, though over his three-year career, he is certainly no stranger to the Blue Coats.
Springer has not suited up for the Sixers since their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 22. While he was inactive for two of those contests due to a non-COVID illness, there are four others that saw Springer sit due to a DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision).
While this could simply be a tune-up game after his time missed, any extended stay would be admittedly odd given the Sixers’ defensive struggles this season. While Springer is far from the perfect player, he is adept at hiding the defensive sins of his teammates.
Offensively, Springer continues to be as raw as ever, averaging 3.2 points on 35.1 percent shooting from the floor and 25.0 percent from three. From that perspective, Nurse’s apparent hesitation to give the young guard consistent misses is understandable, but there has to be a tipping point where some adjustment must be made to improve the team’s defense.
Perhaps after a run with the Blue Coats, Springer will return ready to make an impact for the Sixers. However, there have been no indications to suggest that that will be the case.
