The Philadelphia 76ers appear in numerous NBA rumors . Now, rumors naming Marco Belinelli are heating up as a possible “Plan B” if the team fails before the trade deadline
Yes, Philadelphia 76ers fans, Bryan Colangelo is shopping for help for the team. From the moment the Philadelphia 76ers traded Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas, and a pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Trevor Booker, the roster has been running with an empty slot.
This trade deadline is doubly compounding the team’s inability to get Markelle Fultz onto the basketball court. But behind that headliner, there is that untimely season-ending injury to Furkan Korkmaz which derailed their development timeline. With development off the rails, the Sixers painted themselves into a corner of Colangelo’s own doing.
NBA Rumors heating up
So far, NBA rumors link the Philadelphia 76ers to multiple shooting guards with a flair for sinking threes who are on the trade block. There is the ageless Clipper, Lou Williams. The team is also linked to an NBA rumor for Grizzlies Tyreke Evans. They are also rumored to be investigating how to trade for Atlanta Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon. And of course, there were earlier reports of 76ers interest in Hawks shooting guard Marco Belinelli.
The Hawks have informed veteran sharpshooter Marco Belinelli that he is on course to be traded by Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline, league sources say. Atlanta said to still be weighing its options in terms of exactly where it will send him with multiple teams interested
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 7, 2018
The Atlanta Hawks believe they will succeed in dealing Belinelli by the trade deadline.
Do the Philadelphia 76ers have a plan B?
So there is NBA interest in Belinelli. But how can we be sure that the Philadelphia 76ers are among them? The fact is that the Philadelphia 76ers are, for whatever the cause, a bubble team fighting for a spot in the NBA Playoffs. The delay to act has placed the team into a dangerous crossroad. Do nothing and steady-as-she-goes hoping to either make the playoffs “as is” or reload next season. Or, the team can roll the dice and gamble some lower value assets which are not believed to be integral to their overall future, and try to improve the team now.
So far, the NBA rumors suggest its more of the second.
What if efforts fail?
The fact is that many NBA teams are searching for a bargained boost to their roster for a playoff run. That automatically boosts the market value of any player fitting the description. So far, the Sixers are shopping, but each and every player on the market is set at a price of a first round pick, for a partial season.
That’s pretty expensive. So while the Sixers pursue primary targets with a higher confidence level of helping the team, there now appears to be a leaked “fallback” position.
Report: Executives around the league expect both #Hawks SG-SF Marco Belinelli and PF-SF Ersan Ilyasova to be bought out if they aren't traded, decreasing their trade value. There's a chance Belinelli could yield a 2nd rounder. He's a backup plan for #Sixers #76ers and #Pacers.
— Kyle Cohen (@kylecohenNBA) February 6, 2018
News like this leaks for one reason alone. A team or team(s) are trying to leverage a primary target asking price down. Let’s see if it works.
Plan B at a 2nd round pick price
The Philadelphia 76ers are the only game in the trade market with the ability to dictate the market value. With more picks and better 1st rounders than any other current buyer, the 76ers can impose enough protections on a first to remain the high bid, but not overpay for a partial year player.
But the team may not be sold on the players sought at the current asking price. After all, the feature of most players are the short duration of their existing contract. For the Philadelphia 76ers, that helps maintain sufficient salary cap space, but it does nothing to provide some semblance of continuity going into the 2018-2019 season. For a first round pick, that’s a wide chasm to jump.
What does Belinelli bring?
Well, he’s had a storied NBA career. Or putting it another way, he’s been to seven different teams in 11 years. That unto itself suggests that he has either failed to deliver to expectations, or ended up on a team which decided to go in a different direction.
Neither of which suggests “build a team around me” in the small print. But he does have some time with the San Antonio Spurs. That’s a huge plus.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz fate rests in Billy Lange’s hands
Belinelli is comfortable in a bench role, starting just one of 52 games played. He will not add much to the team on defense, putting up less than two rebounds and under one steal per game. He does have good handles, as he averages just one turnover in 23 minutes played. To put that into perspective, the Philadelphia have no comparable player. Additionally, he seldom fouls his opponent. If those are qualities the team needs, then perhaps he is a good candidate. Personally, I prefer Lou Williams. But if the Sixers can negotiate a fair price, then Belinelli could help the team’s bench considerably.