Sixers were wise to give George Hill a lead over Kyle Lowry At the 2021 NBA Trading Date

For weeks, Philadelphia 76ers team president Daryl Morey said he wouldn’t make a big splash at the 2021 NBA trade deadline.

While the Sixers were one of the main places where Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was approached, they moved instead to get another former ball handler who was much cheaper to get.

On Thursday, the Sixers agreed to send Brad Bradley, Terrance Ferguson and 2025 and 2026 bricks in the second round to the Oklahoma City Thunder for George Hill. As part of the same deal, they sent Vincent Poirier and the 2021 election in their second round to the New York Knicks for Ignas Brazdeikis in their second year.

Thunder ‘s asking price for Hill seems to be what sent the Sixers to replace Lowry.

The Raptors reportedly wanted 2021 and 2023 bricks in the first round, rookie defender Tyrese Maxey and second-year swingman Matisse Thybulle in exchange for Lowry, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Adam Hermann). The Sixers also had to introduce Danny Green to Lowry’s trade for salary matching purposes.

Michael Grange Sportsnet said the Sixers were making a “late push” for Lowry and were on the “one-year line,” but that the deal eventually fell through. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, “the compensation draft was the ultimate unresolved obstacle.”

There is no doubt that Lowry is a better player than Hill, but Morey had to measure the costs of each, especially with the first one going into an unrestricted free squad this summer.

“We took an option that we thought had a major overhaul of our team this year at both ends and at the same time kept all our selection alive in the future,” Morey said Thursday. to be an integral part of this team – we think it will – we have a choice to keep and not go to a free agency. We have also maintained our significant assets to keep the team up to date. “

If the Sixers had acquired Lowry, there would be a risk that he would leave as a free agent this offseason. Given that a lot of funds for short-term rent could be a death blow to their title hopes later this year.

Hill, meanwhile, is under contract for $ 10.0 million in 2021-22, of which only $ 1.3 million is guaranteed. If it proves fit enough, the Sixers could trade away either this offseason or ahead of next year’s trading date and try some of what they gave to give back.

There are also relevant cases in court. Hill may not be a six-time All-Star like Lowry, but nonetheless he can play a vital role for the Sixers.

The 34-year-old shot at 46.0 percent at best from a three-point range with the Milwaukee Bucks last season, and is a career hunter 38.4 percent from depth. While playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, he buried 50.0 percent of his three-point catch and drag attempts and 43.5 percent of his three pull-up points.

While the Sixers put a pair of long-range threats in Green and Seth Curry on time, they can always use more shooting alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. They shoot 37.0 percent from the depths of the season, but are currently 24th in three innings and 28th in three-point attempts.

Putting a bullet down in Hill gives Embiid and Simmons another chance on the edge.

“To get the shot in a two-way player like Danny’s, I see it as a purchase like we did with Danny Green,” Morey said of Hill. “A man who has been through a lot of playoff wars, boys hits can hit at a high level such as when Joel is with two teams or when people have to fall for Ben in the paint, those passes will be fired out at a very high percentage. “

Beyond Hill’s shooting, Morey also pointed to the security of his ball. Hill has been within 80th percentile or higher than the league in turn percentage for almost every season of his career, according to Glass Cleaning, and has never averaged more than 1.7 give away every game in any season.

The Sixers are currently ranked 27th in the turn of each game, partly because they don’t have traditional first-pass point guards. Most of their offense flows through Simmons (3.6 turns per game), Embiid (3.2) and Tobias Harris (1.9), with Shake Milton (1.7) being the lead off-the-scenes creator .

So Hill’s flexibility as both a threat to and from the ball could make him fit for the Sixers.

He wants to get off the bench and reduce some playmaking responsibility from Milton, which should help bring Milton offensively. After shooting 43.0 percent from the depths of last season, it’s down to 30.6 percent this year, partly because it has to carry so much image creation for the reserve unit.

However, Hill should be able to work with Simmons, Green, Embiid and Harris, especially late in games. Morey noted that head coach Doc Rivers can now “put in five strong lads with a playoff test who can play both ends on the floor at the same time.”

Seth Curry shoots 43.6 percent at the best team level from a three-point range, but he is by no means a defensive stopper. Reserve swingman Furkan Korkmaz is similarly a threat to get away from depth on any particular night, but it can be a similarly defensive responsibility.

If Curry roasts defensively on a particular night, the Sixers could slip Hill into his place alongside the other starters for the final few minutes. It also gives them another defensive option to throw at front courts, which could be particularly critical in a playoff series against James Harden, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.

“I think Brooklyn is gonna go into those playoffs as their favorite, but I think we’re right there,” Morey said. “I don’t think there’s a clear choice in the league. I think there seem to be 5-6 teams that have a very good chance of winning and we’re one of them.”

Oddsmakers sellers seem to agree with Morey’s assessment, as the Sixers are currently at +1200 to win this year’s title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They are the sixth best odds in the league, just pulling the Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Bucks and Utah Jazz.

If the Sixers had given up Green and Thybulle in a deal for Lowry, they would not have been able to put together a line with five two-way threats. Removing two key pieces of defense from rotation could be devastating in the playoffs, even if Lowry isn’t slow on that end of the floor.

It seems like the last Lowry-Hill debate would have been asking price vs. expected offers.

“I look a lot at competition odds,” Morey said. “And so it’s very much in line with,‘ This move will increase our numbers to win the title this year to some extent, but will we provide material that will reduce our numbers in the future. ‘ And we try to balance that so that we make the most of that. “

“… So if there is a move that will raise our wards a little more this year but hurt our wonder in the future, that does not make sense. we are really hurting our chances of winning the title in its entirety.This is a move that largely increases our numbers but does not affect what we think at the time. In the future, then that ‘s a move that looks very interesting, and so I think that this move has greatly increased our competition numbers and we have kept those in place. future at a very high level. “

The Raptors will stop trading Lowry at all, so he won’t come back to bother the Sixers from Miami or Los Angeles. They can now only hope that Green, Thybulle and Hill surpass what Lowry would have given them in the playoffs.

Unless otherwise stated, all stats will go through NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the glass no Basketball reference. All salary information through Spotrac.