The Philadelphia 76ers have a slew of impending free agents this offseason, but the front office has ample control over the fate of some of these players. Case in point? Look no farther than Trendon Watford, whose fate with this squad for the following campaign has yet to be decided. The team has a $2.8 million team option they can exercise, but so far, there has been no indications of where they stand with the forward.
To that effect, analyst Sam Vecenie recently said he is comfortable if the 76ers drop the hammer on Watford and cut ties with him after just one season, although he did note that it is not a necessity at this point in time. Still, this take is quite the strange one, especially since he mentioned in the same pod that the team should keep Jabari Walker, a more limited player, for depth purposes.
Watford was brought in last year to help fortify the forward position, and he provided exactly that at the start of the season. However, after an untimely injury that held him out for considerable time, he soon ended up in Nick Nurse's doghouse. At the latter half of the season, he got relegated to being a benchwarmer in high-stake games.
The 76ers should simply keep Trendon Watford this summer
Be that as it may, the 76ers should not overthink things with Watford. He will obviously not cost an arm and a leg to keep anyway, and with the team in dire need of playable bodies at forward, letting Watford, arguably their most malleable player, walk away for nothing in free agency would be a major mistake.
Despite averaging just 16.3 minutes a night this season, Watford registered 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per outing on 51.5 percent shooting from the floor. He was one of the better defenders on the squad. His all-around skill set was on full display, and he took on various hats for the team depending on what needed filling up, although his lack of three-point shooting probably caused his minutes to wane.
Nevertheless, that kind of production and versatility is all you can ask for someone who is going to make less than $3 million next season. The 76ers do not have ample financial legroom this summer, so they have to make it an emphasis to keep the cheaper, in-house options they already have. Watford arguably embodies that the best among their pool of potential free agents, and the front office should be wise enough to acknowledge and seize the bargain right in front of them.
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