Philadelphia 76ers: How To Manage Robert Covington
The Philadelphia 76ers are seeing their small forward start to regain confidence after a horrid start. How should the team handle his future on the roster?
Robert Covington is regaining his confidence, shot form, and most importantly, his production. Covington’s early performances put his role into question, as he shot 6 for 36 (16.67%) from the field, averaging just 4.0 points per game in the first five games of the season. The Philadelphia 76ers saw a different scorer in the past.
Through his struggles, Covington showed a lack of confidence and a rushed motion in his shots. The slump hit him hard, as he failed to score in 59 minutes over two games. He was still able to show off impenetrable defense on the wing, which has saved his starting role.
Covington’s defensive box plus minus of 2.2 is by far the best of his career. His steal and block percentage have each increased .7%, which shows a commitment to lockdown defense. The belief was that a step up in defense combined with his decent ability to score would put him amongst the best in his position, outside of the labeled stars.
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The touch on offense is slowly reviving for Covington. He went 4 for 5 from the field in the loss to Utah, hitting 3 of his 4 outside shot attempts. In the loss to Indiana, we saw an increased focus to getting Covington the ball on the outside. Covington went 5 for 9 from three-point range, many of which were contested to some degree.
So, if the offense is back and the defense remains at the same level, it would appear that Covington could be the mainstay small forward for the Philadelphia 76ers. His timeline fits that of the team’s, and is a great option as a catch and shoot forward to group together with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
There is, however, always an option to testing Covington’s trade value. The Sixers recently shipped Jerami Grant for decent value, swapping him for Ersan Ilyasova and a highly-protected future first-round pick. Grant’s athleticism and defensive abilities made him an attractive bench option for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but his offensive restrictions held back his potential value.
Covington’s more polished on offense, and brings a niche in wing defense. His value is sure to be higher than that of Grant’s. He may even field a 2017 first-round pick. But is it worth it?
That’s all dependent on the direction the Philadelphia 76ers want to take in this next offseason. The Sixers currently hold a team option for next season on Covington, which they will likely exercise due to the ridiculousness of how inexpensive the contract is in comparison to his production.
The team could look to draft a wing in the draft. Josh Jackson or Jonathan Isaac would be the top wing options in the draft. They could also attack free agency, and try to pry away restricted free agents in Otto Porter, Jr. or Andre Roberson. Porter, Jr. will likely be somewhat costly and not much of an improvement, if any at all. Roberson would be a heavy investment, and one that may not fit the offensive mold of the team.
If the Philadelphia 76ers decide to move on Covington, it would have to be through a trade. A playoff hungry team would throw any reasonable asset at Covington, who could provide scoring and defense off the bench. The question now comes in the terms of long-term options.
Covington could very well be the two-way forward that will grow with this team, or he could be the trade chip that lands them that long-term wing. Will a first-round pick ranging from the 21st-30th spots would be enough to justify giving away a solid defensive wing at his worst, and a two-way player at his best?
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The Philadelphia 76ers should undoubtedly be aggressive on the trade market, but hold off on openly shopping Covington without a steal of a deal. It’s difficult to find a two-way forward, and letting one go for an unknown asset seems irresponsible.