Will T.J. McConnell Land a Spot on the 76ers?

We travelled all the way to Las Vegas to watch T.J. McConnell play in the NBA, to our chagrin, although he was suited up, the coaches didn’t play him. Was this a sign?

Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie signed T.J. to a partially guaranteed free agent contract shortly after the NBA Draft was over. Arizona Wildcats fans were thrilled; finally someone saw the brilliance we all know T.J. possesses.

I couldn’t get close enough to the 76ers bench in Las Vegas at the Cox Pavillion on the UNLV Campus. I wasn’t alone, I met some Arizona fans who sat right next to me, we made fast friends.

Right away it was more than clear that T.J. McConnell already had established himself on his summer league team as a leader and they have already assessed him, so it wasn’t a bad sign they didn’t play him. I was advised by a friend that the team was making final assessments of other players like former Oregon Duck Arsalan Kazemi who played his heart out and left everything on the court and advised by McConnell at times.

Even 76ers sports writers like what they see in McConnell. Mike Gibson, NBA sports writer for Rant Sports feels he is just the right fit for the 76ers.

According to Gibson, “In his two Utah summer league games so far, McConnell has shown he is just the kind of player the Sixers have been looking for since trading away former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams. In fact, McConnell might be a better ball handler and shooter than MCW, and probably understands the position of point guard better.

He does not hog the ball and is quick to find the Sixer big men in transition. The Sixers want to run the floor with 7-footers Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid and that’s precisely the style of play McConnell was used to at Arizona.”

Watching McConnell on July 17th in the NBA Summer League playoffs, it was fascinating. He did not play one minute, but he coached players, he conferred with coaches, he was the first to the huddle to hear what the coaches game plan was, and he greeted each player returning from the bench with a high-five and often with some advice.

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He was the leader we all know him to be, he was an extension for the coaching staff who seem to encourage his engagement. On top of it all, even though he was not playing, he showed up 100%, was completely engaged in the game, and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Who wouldn’t want a leader like that on their bench?

The day after I attended T.J. and Nick Johnson’s game (Nick didn’t play either but played the same role on the other bench), I went to the Sports Management WorldWide (@SMWW) annual NBA basketball conference. I highly recommend the conference for anyone who wants to break into or learn more about the inner workings and how to break into the NBA. I listened to their stories and advice and interacted with a number of NBA General Managers, Directors of Players Operations, Directors of Scouting, and prominent sports media representatives and the list goes on.

T.J. McConnell 2015 NBA Summer League, Shereen Rayan 7.16.15 Las Vegas Nevada Cox Pavillion

I asked the Sacramento Kings Director of Player Operations and Analytics and the author of “Basketball on Paper,” Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics) if he assesses the intangibles of a player in his analytical analysis.

I brought up T.J. McConnell as an example, stating that having a player who is a leader and motivator on the bench and in the game, who can play and manage the game on the court as well as share the ball should be recorded as statistics for analytics and assessment.

His answer gave me some hope in the ever evolving process of analytics in which he is a pioneer; those involved in its progression of analytics are always thinking of new ways to analyze players. He was interested in capturing those attributes for his targets, and he mentioned a study which the armed services were leading to decide how to gather a persons intangible personality attributes.

Oliver continued to explain that today NBA teams rely on answers to a written personality test results they give to the draftees. The issue with tests are that the players get tired of taking them, and because they possibly take these tests for each team they meet with, the results aren’t always correct because “the players get tired and start marking “C” as the answer to every question.”

T.J. McConnell 2015 NBA Summer League, Shereen Rayan 7.16.15 Las Vegas Nevada Cox Pavillion

At least I hope I gave Oliver a reason to look at T.J. in the future and remember there are those intangibles which possibly he can gather if someone figures out how, I have a few ideas in case he’s interested. The 76ers just recently signed a different point guard so in case the 76ers are not going to sign McConnell, I gave it my best shot.

Ryan Kelapire (@RyanKelapire) of AZDesertSwarm.com felt that T.J. not playing on Friday was not a good sign and wrote an article titled ‘T.J. McConnell’s chance of making the Sixers looks bleak.’  In the article Kelapire draws the following conclusion:

"“Because T.J. didn’t stand out, the Sixers appear to have gone in a different direction. A few days ago they signed Pierre Jackson to a multi-year deal, and even more recently they signed former Florida Gator Scottie Wilbekin to a four-year contract.Both these players are guards, and with them being added to a roster that includes Isaiah Canaan and Tony Wroten (though Wroten is likely to miss the start of the season), it could likely leave McConnell out of the mix.”"

The operative word here is “appear,” it would appear that it looks bleak, but I am thinking there is more to the story. I spoke to a few friends who are close to the goings on in the NBA. Both assured me that T.J. was just fine, feels confident and is in great spirits.  He also let us all know he still rocks Arizona Wildcats gear when possible.

After summer league, T.J. was off to Tucson.

McConnell always enjoys his time on the court, his teammates helped him dunk for the first time:

T.J., we wish you all the happiness life has to offer and that the stars align for you to help you make your dreams come true. People always say “everything happens for a reason” and I truly believe that, whether it’s with the 76ers or with the Sacramento Kings (I opened the door for you ha ha), or we see you on the bench as an assistant coach for the Arizona Wildcats, which I think you are destined for in your path to greatness, we have your back!

Beardown T.J.! U of A over everything indeed!

Next: Five Biggest Questions for Next Seasons Arizona Wildcats Basketball Team