The Philadelphia 76ers ran up to the trade deadline buzzer, but managed to sneak in a second move.
Following the additions of Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, the Philadelphia 76ers needed to clear two roster spots. One of those spots has been cleared. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers have dealt James Ennis to the Orlando Magic.
In return, the Sixers will receive the Lakers’ 2020 second-round pick, which will end up in the late 50s. It’s a small reward, but it’s clear Philadelphia viewed Ennis as expendable. His minutes declined sharply in January, and the arrival of Burks and Robinson were bound to cut his minutes even further.
On that note, this is a trade of little consequence. Ennis is not a special talent, and it’s nice to keep a lane open for Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz to see extended time on the floor. Ennis waived his no-trade clause, so perhaps his decrease in playing time was a source of tension.
That said, the Sixers did get strong play from Ennis early in the season. When projecting toward the playoffs, it’s difficult to overlook Ennis’ experience and defensive acumen when compared to less proven assets.
The Sixers needed to clear space, and this is far from egregious. But as the Sixers make a desperate push for the NBA Finals, one would expect Ennis — still a legitimate rotation piece, if given the opportunity — to take precedent over more expendable pieces, such as Jonah Bolden. Not the case, evidently.
Ennis will get a chance for more minutes in Orlando, where he can join another former Sixer who was famously traded for an underwhelming package — Markelle Fultz. The Magic are locked and loaded when it comes to long, two-way wings, so Ennis should have no problem fitting in.
This was a much quieter deadline than many expected from Philadelphia, but in the end, a lack of desirable trade assets made such an occurrence inevitable. With Tobias Harris and Al Horford off the table, nothing of extreme significance was going to transpire.