In the first two seasons of the Sixers rebuild, the team took a flyer on a lot of different players. Some worked out, such as Robert Covington and JaKarr Sampson, while others did not go so smoothly, like Daniel Orton and Malcolm Thomas.
But out of all the gypsies that came through the Sixers pipeline in the first season and a half of their rebuild, none seemed to really excite the fan base upon their signing. For example, Sixers fans love Robert Covington now, but when he was initially called up from the D-League most fans had no clue who he was. Of course this shouldn’t factor into who the Sixers sign, but they had yet to bring someone in mid-season that fans could immediately make a connection to and get excited about.
That would all change on February 24.
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On the day of the trade deadline, the Denver Nuggets sent Aaron Afflalo to the Portland Trailblazers for a future first-round pick and a few players, one of which was Thomas Robinson. A few days later, Robinson was bought out by the Nuggets and set out looking for his fifth team in his first three seasons in the league. Expecting to clear waivers, Robinson reached an agreement on a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets.
Not so fast:
The 76ers have placed a claim on Thomas Robinson, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. He'll belong to Philadelphia at 5 PM ET.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 24, 2015
The Sixers claimed Robinson, and ultimately blocked him from going to the Nets. This received a lot of criticism from around the league. There was an assumption that Sam Hinkie only placed a claim on Robinson to get the Sixers above the salary cap floor. Claiming T-Rob did indeed get them above the salary floor, but the Sixers viewed him as something more than that by holding onto him. While Nets fans were extremely furious at the Sixers for blocking their contract agreement, Sixers fans, along with Sixers twitter, were definitely happy about it.
I AM SAM HINKIE I AM THOMAS ROBINSON
— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) February 24, 2015
While the underachieving power forward was bouncing around the league the past few seasons, Sixers fans were always hopeful he would one day fall in their laps. As the former fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, Robinson’s first two and a half seasons in the NBA could have been best described as disappointing and frustrating. His limited offensive game and inconsistent play on defense were the main reasons why Robinson could not find consistent minutes nor a permanent home. But in his short stint with the Sixers, the former Kansas Jayhawk showed the potential of becoming a regular frontcourt player in the NBA.
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