12 Players Sixers Can Use Their Trade Exception On
Let’s play with $8 million.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
After weeks of comments from Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers alluding to players who they “can’t discuss just yet,” the trade sending Al Horford and a future first-round pick to Oklahoma City in exchange for Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson became official on Tuesday.
The immediate significance of this trade is obvious: the Sixers are turning a player who did not fit whatsoever into perhaps the prototypical wing on a Joel Embiid- and Ben Simmons-led team. But the ramifications of the deal extend beyond on-court fit.
In the trade, the Sixers created an $8.2M trade exception. What that means is they, without sending out any centers, are allowed to absorb up to $8.2M in a trade. They can’t combine the $8.2M with the salary of someone under contract, though. Think of it as a portal of sorts, one with which the Sixers can eat up to that $8.2M figure.
The obvious inclination is to assume they will try to take advantage of the opportunity immediately. But after the early media availability with President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, it appears that the Sixers are in no rush to do anything right now.
Whether it’s in the next two weeks or not until the exception expires on December 8 of 2021, there are intriguing options out there. Let’s start with a few I feel strongly about and then rapid-fire through some other ideas.
Doug McDermott, Indiana Pacers, $7.3M
Dougie McBuckets has had a quietly impressive career up to this point; his elite shooting that made him a lottery pick has been as good as anticipated, really. In my eyes, the pendulum has swung a bit too far toward the negative side: McDermott is a no-doubt-about-it elite three-point shooter, is a competent enough defensive player and has ability as an off-ball mover and relocator that would be major assets to a Sixers team that will need fluidity in bench-heavy lineups.
The Pacers have no basketball reasons to just give McDermott away, but there are other incentives at play: the Pacers are right up against the luxury tax line, currently a bit less than $1M into the tax. Shedding McDermott gives them all of the breathing room they need to complete a finalized roster that is not at risk of paying the tax.
Ish Smith, Washington Wizards, $6.1M
Our good old friend! Ish is certainly not an ideal fit with Ben Simmons, but why can’t he come in and play 15 minutes per game when Ben is off the floor? He would add an elite-level burst to an offense that wants to get out in transition. And thanks to Shake Milton’s size and length, those two guards can play alongside each other. They’re fascinating in their difference; Ish runs north and south like almost no other while Shake has a more methodical style where he disorients the defense while playing at his own pace.
There’s no reason for Washington to just hand Ish over to the Sixers, but it likely wouldn’t require more than a useful second-round pick or two. Let’s have a homecoming!
Reggie Bullock, New York Knicks, $4M
If you’ve ever read something I wrote, it probably includes a section about Reggie Bullock. I cannot quit on Bullock, who from 2015-2019 made over 40 percent of his three-point tries on over four attempts per game. His shooting is a definitively elite skill, which is what the Sixers should be looking for.
Bullock makes the most sense if Furkan Korkmaz either struggles next season or is moved. But you can never -- I repeat, NEVER -- have enough shooting.
Rapid Fire
One potential trade partner here is former Sixers executive Marc Eversley and the new-look Chicago Bulls front office. They have both Denzel Valentine ($4.6M) and Luke Kornet ($2.3M). Once the season gets going, the Sixers could get one (or both!) to be real contributors. Valentine is a wing who can handle and shoot; Kornet is a stretch five who could help out with some Simmons-centric offense. The Bulls also have Garrett Temple ($4.7M), a reliable wing lauded for his locker room presence.
Enemy of The Process Nemanja Bjelica ($7.1M) is part of a big-man logjam in Sacramento, and I can’t imagine it would cost much to bring to Philly. Despite his previous sins, Bjelica is a very solid backup stretch four. A dream scenario might be dealing Mike Scott for a different, more useful, medium-salary player, and then taking Bjelly into the trade exception to replace Scott. Jabari Parker ($6.5M) is also there -- while I would likely object given his injury history and defensive woes, but a wing at that size who can score can’t be ignored.
Everyone on the Knicks can conceivably be had. Our good friend Nerlens Noel ($5.0) is there if the Dwight Howard idea doesn’t work out. Frank Ntilikina ($6.1M) is an excellent guard defender but doesn’t do much more right now -- this one would simply be a bet on your development staff being better than that of the Knicks (that’s a good bet). Reggie Bullock was already mentioned about. Our good friend Alec Burks ($4.0M) will almost certainly become available at the trade deadline, and if he can get to Philly in the time between the deadline and the NBA Finals, he could give the Sixers a scoring punch.
Before we finish up… Khem Birch ($3.0M) is a perpetually undervalued player who would provide stability at center if it’s needed. After being moved to OKC, Justin Jackson ($5.0M) should be obtainable, and a wing of his size would be useful on this roster. Trey Lyles ($5.5M) is a quality backup stretch four if Scott is moved. Nicolò Melli ($4.1M) is a lesser player but can probably be had for next to nothing. And, finally, in the entirely hypothetical world in which the Sixers and Houston Rockets are engaged in trade talks, perhaps in a move that would solidify Houston’s rebuild beginning, the Sixers could try to snag PJ Tucker ($7.9M).
