Dominick Barlow has emerged as one of the more vital pieces for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. However, with the way his contract is set up, the team actually stands to lose him on their regular loop if they do not act and promptly and free up a space for his deal’s inevitable and imperative conversion into a standard one.
Signed by the 76ers to a two-way deal last summer, Barlow and even Jabari Walker, who has been serviceable so far, are starting to exhaust their allowable appearances for the team. With Philly having less than 15 players on standard deals, the team can trot out its two-way guys for a maximum of 90 games. However, they are getting closer to that number.
Unless the 76ers part ways with one of their players on a regular NBA contract, they could be forced to send both of them to Delaware and play in the G-League instead. That is precisely why the 76ers have to cut someone on the roster, preferably Eric Gordon, who is perhaps the most dispensable player on the team.
The 76ers should jettison Eric Gordon to make room for Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker
Gordon, who makes a hair above $2 million this season, is someone whom the 76ers could — and should — ship away elsewhere to make room for converting Barlow and Walker’s two-way deals into standards contracts. That way, they will have a full 15-man roster with some more wiggle room to make additions through their remaining two-way spots.
The veteran guard has barely even sniffed the court anyway. And most certainly, the coaching staff has zero reason to even consider installing him in the rotation moving forward given his one-way play.
Barlow (and to some extent, Walker), has emerged as one of, if not the most reliable connective piece on this team. He is a good defender with a lot of size to boot, and on offense, while he has no standout skill, he is easy to integrate because of the little things he does to make the team run more smoothly. That is impressive when taking into account the fact that he has no three-point shot yet in his wheelhouse.
As the 76ers inch closer to their probable deadline to convert their two-way players’ contracts, which is apprimately coming in January, the front office has to start being more active in opening up those required roster spots, lest they lose a vital contributor like Barlow to the G-League — where he no longer belongs.