3. Robert Covington
Covington broke out with the Sixers during The Process era. The undrafted wing was a diamond in the rough uncovered by the franchise, who became a strong 3-and-D wing for five different teams. Covington arrived back in Philadelphia in the James Harden trade, but the 33-year-old is past his prime.
Covington was in and out of the rotation for the Clippers last season and appears to be playing a similar role in Philadelphia. He has not left the bench in three of the last seven games and played under five minutes in another. The veteran forward is averaging 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 16.1 minutes per game with the 76ers, but head coach Nick Nurse has wing depth.
Covington is on an $11.6 million expiring contract, which could be a key salary-matcher in a trade. The three expiring salaries Philadelphia acquired from the Clippers tally over $40.5 million. They alone could land the Sixers a third star, so Daryl Morey certainly has options in any deal he desires to make.
Expect Philly to explore what they can turn RoCo’s expiring contract into. It could be a role-player upgrade or a bigger fish. Morey has several plans in the works, and fans should consider Robert Covington expendable before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.