The Sixer Sense
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Sixers should add depth, trade for Wilson Chandler

By Luke Swiatek

DENVER, CO - APRIL 9: Wilson Chandler (21) of the Denver Nuggets stands for the national anthem before the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 9: Wilson Chandler (21) of the Denver Nuggets stands for the national anthem before the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, April 9, 2018. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
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If the Philadelphia 76ers strike out on landing LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, they’ll need to pivot to fill out the rest of the roster.

Not landing a star in free agency or via a trade this year would not be the worst thing in the world for the Philadelphia 76ers. If that happens, their goal should be the same as it was last offseason: acquire role players on one year deals, and try again next summer.

Some offseason acquisitions we’ve made likely already patch some of the roster’s holes. Landry Shamet could fill in for Marco Bellinelli (who signed with the Spurs) and Zhaire Smith should be an improvement on Timothe Luwawu- Cabarrot. If Jonah Bolden comes over, he can be a better Amir Johnson. J.J. Redick will likely stay.

However, we do not really have a replacement for Ersan Ilyasova, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Ilyasova was invaluable during the Sixers’ playoff run, providing critical spacing for Ben SImmons and Joel Embiid.

A player that could be a target to fill his shoes would be Wilson Chandler of the Denver Nuggets. I’ll show you what the trade could look like, and explain why it makes sense for all sides.

Chicago Bulls

This is a simple deal for the Bulls. They suck and won’t be good next year, but they have roughly $40 million in cap space.

For this deal, they take Bayless’s expiring contract and they pay him $8.6 million this year (they can even waive him if they want), and get a draft pick that will probably be in the early 20s as a result.

It’s exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers did when they tanked, and it’s what the Nets have done the last few years. It’s an easy way to get a young asset for cap room they weren’t using anyway.

Philadelphia 76ers

Wilson Chandler would fit the team nicely. He’s a good shooter but not as good as Ilyasova, and he’s not as good of a rebounder as Ilyasova either.

However, he’s more of a combo forward than Ilyasova, and his defensive versatility would be a real boon. Having another wing that can come off the bench and fit right into Brett Brown’s switch-heavy scheme would be priceless for the Sixers’ playoff hopes.

Most importantly is his contract. The Philadelphia 76ers currently have about $30 million in cap room, but if they can’t get a big free agent then they won’t need it.

Another nice fat one-year deal for Redick could soak up some of that space and still leave us with more than enough to play with. Trading Bayless’s expiring contract for Chandler’s (which is also expiring) adds roughly $4 million to our books this year while not hampering us in the future at all. Wilson Chandler is definitely worth an extra $4 million.

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Denver Nuggets

It may seem like the Nuggets are getting the short end of the stick here. They’re losing a valuable role player AND their first-round pick yet they get nothing back. What gives?

I based this trade on reports that he’s on the trade block, along with Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur. Other reports have suggested that Denver was willing to move its first-round pick in the 2018 draft to get rid of one, but evidently found no takers.

The problem is the luxury tax; Chandler’s contract is not just $12.8 million. Nikola Jokic signed a five year, $148 million dollar extension. Will Barton signed one for four years, $54 million.

For salary purposes, I could assume that the value of those deals in their first year would be their AAV, or average annual value, of $29.6 million and $13.5 million respectively.

However, their deals will probably be back-loaded, so I’ll guess at significantly more conservative values, somewhere around $27.0 million for Jokic and $12.3 million for Barton.

Before Jokic and Barton’s extension, the Nuggets were over the cap at about $108.7 million. Those deals will send them far over it, to the tune of $148 million. The luxury tax has been set at $123 million for the upcoming year, so they will be $25 million over.

That brings their tax deal to a whopping $63.75 million dollars, which when added to their salaries of $148 million brings their team to a total payroll of $211.75. Absolutely ungodly.

Trading Chandler and taking no players back would save them $12.8 million in salary PLUS it would save them about $42 million in tax dollars. Now I don’t know about you, but no matter how much you love Chandler, trading him and a first-round pick for approximately $55 million in savings is a no-brainer.

Next: How Sixers can add LeBron, Kawhi and re-sign J.J. Redick

Maybe for some reason they balk at sending out a first, even if it is lottery protected, and agree to only send one or two seconds to Chicago. I don’t know. But the basic framework of this deal works for all sides, and it could net the Philadelphia 76ers a quality backup who will be important come the playoffs.