Is Zhaire Smith in Philadelphia 76ers' Future Plans?

During the 2018 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers excited its fan base by selecting Villanova product, Mikal Bridges. Under an hour after the selection, though, the mood in Philly changed as the 76ers moved Bridges to Phoenix in order to pick up Texas Tech shooting guard, Zhaire Smith.

At the time, the move wasn't favored. Fast-forward nearly two years, and nothing has really changed. Unfortunately for Smith, his rookie season was derailed by a foot injury and a life-threatening allergic reaction. 

While the 76ers' guard wanted to debut in 2018-2019, the organization made it seem like the chances of Smith playing in year one were slim to none. Shockingly, Smith made it out to the court for the 76ers' G League affiliates, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Then eventually, the 76ers called up the rookie so he could garner some real NBA minutes. In six games, Smith averaged roughly 18 minutes of playing time. While he showed promise, Brett Brown wasn't ready to offer the rookie any playing time during the postseason. Therefore, Smith was riding the pine for two rounds.

It seemed the Sixers were holding out hope for a successful re-introduction to Smith's NBA career this season, but once again, the second-year guard didn't fall in favor with the coaching staff. Not to mention, the 76ers drafted Washington's Matisse Thybulle, who immediately garnered rave reviews from the entire organization.

This season, Smith managed to only appear in seven games for the 76ers. During that time, he averaged under five minutes-per-game. As he spent the majority of the season with the Blue Coats, is that an indicator that Smith is no longer in the Sixers' future plans?

It seems so. As The Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey recently noted, Smith was one of the Sixers' trade chips before the NBA trade deadline this season. As we know, the second-year guard didn't move the needle for any teams; therefore, he remained in Philly.

Pompey made a solid point in defense of keeping Smith by using third-year guard Furkan Korkmaz as an example of patience paying off. Unfortunately for Smith, though, players such as Thybulle, Korkmaz, Shake Milton, and even Marial Shayok overshadow the former first-rounder right now. 

While Brett Brown mentioned numerous times that they are heavily invested into Smith's development -- the front office proved otherwise as they reportedly tried to sell the former 16th overall pick just a few months ago. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_