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Still in the 2nd half of ESPN's NBA Rankings, another Sixer appears! If you've been keeping score and tracking the roster, there are only a handful of Sixers left to be ranked.
Tony Wroten finds himself at 289th, jumping 52 spots from 341st the previous year. After being plucked from Memphis last year in a trade sending a protected 2nd rounder that was recycled more than Adam Sandler's movie gags, Wroten had a "breakout" year of sorts as a backup guard off the bench.
ESPN didn't highlight any Twitter reaction for Wroten, but I thought I'd scour twitter to see a few:
@ESPNNBA @TWroten_LOE #NBArank He was 1 of the few bright spots on a barren 76ers roster last season, and he's 1 1/2 years younger than MCW
— Justin (@JuMuJazz) September 22, 2014
"@ESPNNBA: #NBArank 289: Tony Wroten (@TWroten_LOE). http://t.co/7MitK9OH2N" Very underrated, Tony is coming into his own
— Michael Thomas (@LifeOfHoops_MT) September 22, 2014
Wroten was a pleasant surprise and a bright spot among a lot of bad last season. While there are a lot of glaring holes in his game (mainly his shooting and overall efficiency), he provided some scoring off the bench by playing to his strengths. Affectionately nicknamed "Wrecking Ball" by Malik Rose, Wroten knew how to drive to the hoop and draw contact, averaging 4.5 trips to the FT stripe per game. Unfortunately, he also shot a paltry 64% from the stripe. Furthermore, his shooting woes extend beyond the stripe. His advance stats don't paint a pretty picture.
That's pretty much the hang up with Wroten. He is an extremely athletic guard that can drive to the basket almost at will. However, that's about it. It's hard to be serviceable guard if you lack passable shooting and turn the ball over excessively. He absolutely needs to refine his game. Otherwise, it'd be hard to imagine him in the team's long term plans.
The eternal optimist in me, again, wants to believe Wroten has worked on his game over the off season. And even with all that said, I can't deny that he is just good old fashion fun. While I painted him out as a one trick pony... boy, that one trick's pretty awesome.