Sixers Could Reboot Anthony Bennett Career

Sixers Could Reboot Anthony Bennett Career

It’s a cold cruel world in the NBA. Team owners pay big salaries, but demand production. Produce, and advance. Don’t produce, and you find yourself getting off at the next stop. Anthony Bennett is one such NBA player who has not achieved up to expectations as of yet. In fact, he’s struggled to meet any expectation whatsoever. Despite rumors of trading him, the Minnesota Timberwolves have allegedly decided to cut their losses and part ways with Bennett merely days before the start of the NBA training camp and pre-season.

You know the script by heart. NBA team loves player. Player loves NBA team and signs with team. Player doesn’t perform well. NBA team doesn’t love player and divests. Sixers come along on the rebound.  The script is familiar to Sixers fans who have followed our negotiations. So are the Sixers the team capable of taking on the challenge of fixing Anthony Bennett’s career? At least one Sixers fan thinks so.

He was a highly coveted player who arrived at the NBA injured. He suffered from a shoulder injury, and was afflicted with asthma, sleep apnea, and eye issues.

"“That has been well documented. When you look at the guy that came to the draft lottery, he was there in a sling. Even when he didn’t know he was going to be the No. 1 pick, he was hurt. And it just kept on going.”- Timberwolves Flip Saunders"

Bennett improved his conditioning and addressed both his sleeping and vision issues and literally became a different player from a physical standpoint. But Bennett suffered a sprained ankle the following season. But he’s got huge upside, and that tends to be the magical phrase for an NBA prospect to catch the eye of general manager Sam Hinkie. And rightfully so, as the team has hired on leading experts in sports medicine as well as basketball analytics. If ever a team is set up to rehab a player with untapped NBA talent, the Philadelphia 76ers are that team. But does Bennett have what it takes?

"“He’s already one of the most versatile scorers you’ll find in the NCAA, as he’s capable of scoring inside the paint, making 3-pointers, putting the ball down attacking from the perimeter with either hand, handling the ball on the break, and making his presence felt on the offensive glass,” Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony wrote of Bennett in Jan. 2013."

And so, the wait. Will the Sixers, already full rostered, make another move? Only Sam Hinkie knows that answer, and he likes to play his cards close to the vest. But there is a consensus building among sports writes that the Sixers are indeed interested.

Oh, and why would the Sixers have a shot at Anthony Bennett? He would get the chance to join fellow Team Canada player Nik Stauskas, a player hoping to reboot his career in a Sixer uniform as well.  So far, Stauskas has used the pan-am game forum to establish himself as a player on the rise.   Can Bennett relaunch an NBA career in a similar manner?   The Timberwolves are not going to wait around to find out, it seems.

So the player needs a new team. A team needs a new player with huge upside.

I now pronounce you Hinkie and Bennett, you may now sign the prospect.

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