James Ennis
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound small forward won Brett Brown’s ‘tournament’ for wing off the bench, mostly because the alternatives played like dog poo. However, once he got acclimated, Ennis was an effective bench player. He was the only reliable substitute the Sixers had in the playoffs, except for Mike Scott.
He showed above-average defense, a decent three-point shot and was surprisingly aggressive on offense, making defense’s pay for ignoring him. But lets not go overboard on his playoff performance, he shot just 28.1 percent on three-pointers, many of them uncontested, and was minus-8 against Toronto in Game 7, arguably the most important game of his career.
Do the Sixers want him?
At what price? Ennis had a player option for 2019-20 for $1.8 million that he has reportedly declined, deciding instead to test the free agent waters after his big playoff performance. Having bounced between the NBA and G-League for much of his career, one can not blame the guy for taking a shot at some good money.
The Sixers would have had no choice but to take Ennis back if he picked up the option. Now, they can wait and see what Ennis gets on the open market and decide what to do.
Would other NBA teams have any interest and how much would Sixers pay to keep him?
Nothing is in a vacuum, Ennis’ agent probably has some inkling that other NBA teams want to talk to him before he chose to test the free agent waters. Now, his value was not high when Houston traded him to the Sixers on February 7, as all Brand had to give up was a swap of 2021 second-round draft picks to get him.
He will be 29 years old on July 1 with a career average of 6.5 points and was basically given away by Houston after losing his spot as a starter. However, playoff-tested players are always welcome on NBA clubs.
Final Answer: The Sixers would have been fine if Ennis had picked up his option. Now, it is a waiting game to see what Ennis gets offered, will he come back to the Sixers with a chance to match and what figure would the Sixers be willing to pay.