The Sixers acquired Ish Smith earlier in the week and the team plans on making him the starting point guard for the immediate future, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Smith started Saturday’s contest against the Suns, putting up 14 points and five assists in a rare win for Philadelphia.
Here’s more from the City of Brotherly Love:
- Coach Brett Brown believes adding Smith is about more than basketball on the court, Derek Bodner of the Philadelphia magazine passes along (Twitter link). “What people here don’t know is the companionship and the mateship, and the trust that he has with Nerlens [Noel],” Brown said.
- The Sixers are hoping that adding Smith will be a spark for Noel, Pompey writes in a separate piece. Noel is averaging 10.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while sporting a player efficiency rating of 12.0 this season.
- Brown had some kind words for Tony Wroten, who was released on Wednesday, Pompey passes along via Twitter links. “It was disappointing to part ways with Tony,” Brown said. “He had been around me all my days there…It is part of sport. I hope he looks back knowing coaches gave everything we could and for the most part I think he did too. We wish him well.”