The Philadelphia 76ers have seen a lot of good things from their new faces so far this season, but that is far from a blanket statement of the truth. After all, the front office still made some rather puzzling moves during free agency, the most prominent one being their decision to bring back veteran guard Eric Gordon for another go-round with the franchise.
Gordon, who is now playing in his 18th season in the league, first signed with the 76ers last year to provide some shooting and veteran presence to the team, but injuries ravaged him in the previous campaign as he was limited to just 39 total outings.
But beyond the missed games, Gordon has declined so much in nearly every facet of the game that it simply made zero sense that the front office committed another year to him. Now, he is barely even sniffing the floor, having appeared in just three games so far and averaging just seven minutes in those appearances.
Fortunately, the 76ers should be able to get rid of him pretty soon. In fact, they could do so as early as next month.
The 76ers will be eligible to trade Eric Gordon away starting next month
Most players who signed new free agency deals last offseason will have their trade restrictions starting on December 15, and Gordon is a part of that bunch. Hence, the 76ers are only a month away from being officially able to dangle him away to another team.
Of course, trading Gordon will be easier said than done. While he is only making minimum money, the 76ers literally do not have anything to show for prospective sellers given the fact that he has been an afterthought in the rotation.
That means that the 76ers front office will have to sweeten the pot if they are serious about getting rid of Gordon. While there has been no indications of that so far, the team needs to open up another roster spot to usher in a more productive player. Right now, Gordon has only been a glorified benchwarmer.
In recent seasons, teams have resorted to menial second-round pick swaps as a workaround to “trade” undesirable players. The 76ers can do that with Gordon, although they will have to pay a price to some degree to part ways with him.
Still, cutting ties with Eric Gordon should be en emphasis for the front office moving forward. He no longer has a place with the 76ers, and the team will be much better off handing his roster spot to a more worthy cog.