Sixers' Paul Reed Lays Out 3 Goals Before NBA Summer League Opener

The Sixers will face the Dallas Mavericks on Monday for their first matchup of the week-long event that is the NBA Summer League. Second-year power forward Paul Reed might no longer be a rookie, but Monday's game will be his first set of Summer League action since the event was canceled last year due to COVID-19.

Despite not having a typical offseason for a rookie, Reed's start in the NBA couldn't have gone any better. After getting selected late in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft, Reed inked a two-way deal with the Sixers.

As expected, he played with Philly's G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, down in the G League bubble in Orlando, Florida, last season. Expectations weren't super-high for Reed going into the shortened season, but the one they call "Bball Paul" in Philly burst onto the G League scene and dominated off the rip. 

In 15 games, Reed averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal during the G League regular season. In the playoffs, he put up 18 points per game, collected nine rebounds per game, and averaged over two blocks.

Reed's contributions helped lead the Blue Coats to its first championship appearance. Although Delaware's miraculous run ended with the team becoming runner-ups, Reed earned notable personal accolades such as NBA G League MVP, G League Rookie of the Year, All-NBA G League First Team, NBA G League All-Defensive Team, and NBA G League All-Rookie Team. 

His success in the G League led the 76ers to convert Reed's two-way contract into a standard NBA deal. Now, he's got three specific goals heading into the Summer League ahead of his second NBA season.

"I definitely want to win Summer League," Reed said recently. "Be a champion at Summer League. [I] definitely [want to win] Summer League MVP. Another thing I want to do is average a triple-double in the Summer League. I think if I did that, it would take my game to a whole other level -- but that's tough."

Reed will more than likely average double-digit points in Las Vegas this upcoming week. Considering he managed to average double-digit rebounds in the G League last year as a rookie, he'll probably manage to do the same in the Summer League as well. Now, it will be interesting to see where the third stat could come from.

With steals and blocks so difficult to come by, Reed would certainly have to collect more assists to accomplish his third goal. As a power forward/center, Reed doesn't play a position that's known to collect many assists. 

While he acknowledges it won't be an easy task to average ten-plus assists during a five-game stretch, Reed is motivated to take his game to the next level while out in Vegas with the Sixers' Summer League squad.

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