NBA Rumor ESPN NBA Trade Guru Woj lists Philadelphia 76ers as frontrunners for Memphis Grizzlies Tyreke Evans
The Philadelphia 76ers are shopping for perimeter shooting right now. Not just any ole shooting, but the type of scoring threat to solidify their roster for a playoff run. The problem? Those type of players are very popular, and as a result, expensive, at the NBA Trade deadline. And so we’ve talked about an NBA rumor of Philadelphia 76ers interest in Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Lou Williams. After all, he is a former 76ers player, is having an incredbile season, and his contract runs out at year’s end. All of which are criteria to make him a priority for the Sixers short list.
Still, there are players on this list as well we have discussed. One of whom is Memphis Grizzlies’ shooting guard Tyreke Evans. Christopher Kline captured the initial reports of this NBA rumor a week ago. Now, Adrian Wojnarowski, a.k.a. Woj, is fanning the flames. And in doing so, lists the Philadelphia 76ers as one of the frontrunners:
Three frontrunners (Boston, Denver and Philadelphia) and a fourth team (Miami) staying engaged on Memphis' Tyreke Evans, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2018
How close are we to a done deal?
The NBA Trade Deadline doesn’t move. The deadline for 2018 is February 8, 2018 at 3:00 p.m ET. And with so many reportedly interested teams, that doesn’t bode well for any team trying to pry Evans away from the Grizzlies at a discount price. So who are the teams in the hunt? Well per Keith Pompey, that list was up to six teams. But let’s focus a bit on this….
Source confirms #Sixers are interested in Tyreke Evans, but adds #Celtics, #Cavaliers, #Pelicans, #Thunder, #Heat & #Rockets have all contacted the #Grizzlies about the Chester native. "It going to come to a team giving them what they want," the source said. They want a 1-rounder
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) January 31, 2018
As of today, the only frontrunners with a first round pick to give are the Boston Celtics (at 28), the Denver Nuggets (at 19), and the Philadelphia 76ers (at both 9 and 15). The Miami Heat have no draft picks at the moment to toss at the Grizzlies. The 76ers also have four second round picks, and packaged in the right way offer any team the equivalent of a first round pick.
Related Story: Sixers reportedly have interest in Dewayne Dedmon
Salary swings
So that means the Philadelphia 76ers could put a first round pick on the table with top-18 protection and be the high card on the table for Evans. But what about the shift of salary dollars? To get that right, the Philadelphia 76ers have to push to the Grizzlies to take on Jerryd Bayless for a second round pick. So the pieces to make this work is a two player exchange for both sides:
The only player of interest is Tyreke Evans. The remaining players are only significant in balancing the salary considerations, plus eliminate the need for either team to cut players from their roster. In the end, its the Philadelphia 76ers who possess all the right assets to make this deal happen. If it doesn’t go down, it’s because president Bryan Colangelo did not understand the competing teams’ positions, or he simply did not want to make a deal badly enough.
Next: 3 improvements that would help the Sixers’ playoff push
We know this team roster needs help. Now we wait to see if the Philadelphia 76ers have reached the same conclusion.