The Philadelphia 76ers’ plan was shaken up when JaKarr Sampson signed with the Denver Nuggets. What’s next for Philly?
Before the afternoon hit on the Monday following the day that JaKarr Sampson became a free agent, he had found a new team. It didn’t take Sampson long to move on from the red, white, and blue, after being used as a component in a trade that occurred at the deadline for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers took in the large — practically useless contract — of Joel Anthony at the deadline, and took a future second-round draft pick for their trouble. But in order to finalize the deal, they had to clear a roster spot for Anthony, even if their immediate intention was to release the big man. Sampson was the player who was released, despite Kendall Marshall being the one most fans wanted out the door. It looked as if the plan would go as follows:
- Sixers trade for Anthony
- Sixers release Sampson to finalize deal
- Sixers release Anthony
- Sixers sign Sampson back again
- Sixers retain second-round pick acquired in the Anthony deal
- JaKarr Sampson keeps smiling as a Sixer
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A physical that was required for one of the players in the Anthony deal caused the trade to get postponed, and thus caused the Sixers to have less time to sign Sampson and release Anthony once Sampson was a free agent at 5pm on Sunday.
The Denver Nuggets jumped on the opportunity, and as of Monday afternoon were finalizing a deal with Sampson. The Nuggets signed Sixers fan-favorite Sean Kilpatrick of the Philly D-Leage affiliate Delaware 87ers to a 10-day contract earlier this year that did not get extended. Now Kilpatrick is back with the 87ers.
Although this is all very disturbing because we don’t have a JaKarr on our team anymore, it opens doors for Philly. The situation that stands now is that the Anthony trade gets vetoed and it acts as if it never occurred, or the Sixers release Anthony (I don’t see a scenario that makes it worthwhile to keep him around). In either case, the team has a free roster spot to work with.
The Sixers can find a free agent to sign, or they can look to the D-League for talent. Fan favorites and former Sixers Pierre Jackson and Tony Wroten are currently without NBA homes, and — although there already are several guards on the team — could be good additions to the backcourt.
Additionally, Kilpatrick who was mentioned earlier would be a good pickup for the team. They can sign him to a 10-day contract which gives the Sixers more flexibility than they would have if they signed Wroten or Jackson again. This gives the Sixers some time to evaluate a contract and not make a rash decision like they might have to with any existing NBA free agent. Kilpatrick has been tearing it up in the D-League, setting scoring record.
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When Kilpatrick was with the Nuggets earlier this season, he did fairly well for the minutes he was given. Per 36 minutes, he averaged nearly 12 points.
The Sixers have a lot they can do with a — likely open — roster spot they should have in the coming week. There are several possibilities, and rectifying the JaKarr Sampson situation is a must. They need to release Anthony, and make good use of that open roster spot to show that the process is not falling off the tracks yet again.