3 Players Doc Rivers Believes can be Sixers' JJ Redick Next Season
Ever since the Philadelphia 76ers let JJ Redick walk in free agency last offseason, the team hasn't been the same. By now, it's no secret the 76ers lacked in the perimeter shooting department last season.
Without a guy like Redick, the 76ers had a hard time creating space on offense, which made life on the court difficult for the team's two stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
So, what did the 76ers do this offseason? They added shooters. One trade landed the Sixers Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson. Another landed them Seth Curry.
Then, Philly went ahead and drafted Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe for their first and second picks. As if the trend wasn't obvious enough, Philly is searching for ways to upgrade their team on the offensive side of the ball.
Seeing as though the Sixers were successful with Redick in the two years they had him, Philly might look to some of their current players to try and produce like him.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers makes it clear that won't be easy, as he doesn't see anybody with JJ Redick's speed on the roster. However, he believes three players could replicate some of Redick's qualities.
"Seth [Curry] can do a lot of those things," Rivers said in regards to finding a replacement for Redick. "And so can Furkan [Korkmaz] -- so can Shake [Milton]."
When it comes to Curry, the comparisons are self-explanatory. He's quick on his feet, has a quick release, and is reliable from deep as he's knocked down 44-percent of his career three-point attempts. While Curry wants to be viewed as more than just a spot-up three-point shooter -- it's hard not to put a spotlight on his best quality.
As for Korkmaz and Milton, it might be slightly harder to believe they can fill the void as they've been on the team for the last two seasons. But both players have shown clear signs of improvement this past season.
Before last year, Korkmaz failed to drain more than 32-percent of his three-pointers for the Sixers. Last year, the 23-year-old guard knocked down 40-percent of his shots from beyond the arc, notching career-highs across the board.
While former Sixers head coach Brett Brown shied away from utilizing Korkmaz down the stretch last season, he didn't fail to mention the Turkish guard had JJ Redick-like qualities in his game last year. And apparently, Doc Rivers has taken notice.
Lastly, Shake Milton is another young Sixers player Rivers raved about on Tuesday. While he hardly played for the first half of last season, the 24-year-old guard had a shocking emergence before the league went on a hiatus back in March.
In 40 games during the regular season, Milton averaged just under ten points-per-game off the bench while hitting 43-percent of his three-point shots.
"I think we have three guys, in my opinion, that have the chance to do some of [what Redick did]," Rivers stated. "I thought Brett ran some great stuff with JJ, Joel [Embiid], and Ben [Simmons]. And now, we have these three guys that we can probably use some of that stuff to work for us as well."
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
