NBA Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers expected to pursue sharpshooter Doug McDermott in free agency
The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to be involved in a plethora of NBA rumors, with free agency scheduled to start on August 2nd. The latest reports suggest they are looking to acquire Indiana Pacers free agent forward Doug McDermott.
McDermott had a career-best season with the Pacers last season, averaging 13.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting 53.2% from the floor (all career-highs). Over the last two league campaigns, he has shot 41.1% from the 3-point line.
As per Evan Massey of the NBA Analysis Network, the Philadelphia 76ers are expected to pursue Doug McDermott in free agency.
"Per a league source to @HoopAnalysisNet, the Philadelphia #76ers are expected to pursue Doug McDermott in free agency," said Massey via his Twitter handle.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of key decisions to make this offseason as they failed to make it past the second round yet again. They aim to build a solid team around last season's MVP finalist Joel Embiid, which could help them compete with the rest of the heavyweights in the Eastern Conference.
NBA Rumors: Exploring Doug McDermott's fit with the Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to add more shooters to their squad for the next season. Recent NBA rumors suggest they are also willing to put Ben Simmons on the trade block as their All-Star point guard had a woeful NBA Playoffs campaign due to his lack of shooting.
Doug McDermott has emerged as one of the best shooters in the league, who is remarkable from the three-point line and can knock down shots from inside the arc as well. He is a 40.7% shooter from beyond the arc in his nine-season career (3.2) attempts.
NBA teams are high on sharpshooters like him who can provide a solid scoring punch off the bench. The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league. They made only 10 threes on average across 72 games, on 30 attempts per game.
Doug McDermott can definitely help them improve in that area. They will have to take note that he isn't one of the best defenders in the league, though. Nonetheless, they still have a solid defensive unit, so that shouldn't be a concern for them as such if they do end up acquiring him, considering he is more likely to come off the bench for them.
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