Philadelphia 76ers acquire Wilson Chandler, future second from Nuggets
In a move that no one saw coming, Brett Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers have acquired Wilson Chandler from the Denver Nuggets.
Wait, when did the Philadelphia 76ers re-hire Sam Hinkie as their GM?
In a very Hinkie-esque move, interim GM Brett Brown has acquired combo forward Wilson Chandler and a future second-round pick from the Denver Nuggets for the low, low price of…nothing?
Wait, that can’t be, right?
For Denver, this moves Chandler's $12.8M expiring contract, clearing room to sign Will Barton to his extension. Denver likely sending a future second-round pick. https://t.co/OQzAwbUWj6
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2018
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Well, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, the premier source of NBA landscape-shaping Twitter bombs, the Nuggets are essentially dumping the 10th year combo forward’s salary on the 76ers to help get themselves out of the luxury cap, with a free future second-round pick to help sweeten the deal.
Very reminiscent of Hinkie’s signature trade: acquiring the Sacramento Kings‘ 2019 unprotected first round pick, some pick swaps and Nik Stauskas for some cap space.
But why?
With roughly $17 million to play with after locking J.J. Redick in for a one-year, $13 million deal the day before, Philly has now committed $12.8 million to Chandler for the final year of his four-year, $46.4 million deal with about only $1-3 million left to play with under the $101 million salary cap.
Though this move will help to pay dividends moving forward, as it’s always nice to add a future asset for free, the decision to use up their final big chunk of money on a player like Chandler is peculiar, to say the least.
At 31 years old, Chandler is only a career 34 percent three-point shooter, with the ability to play either forward position. While his 13.5 career average points per game would have ranked seventh on the team last year, his lack of versatility as a scorer, when coupled with his lack of speed and effectiveness on the defensive end of the court (-1.54 according to ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus) simply makes Chandler an odd fit in Brown’s current switch heavy scheme.
But hey, maybe Brown has a plan for how to best utilize the 10th year forward, as he was the one who pulled the trigger on the deal. I guess it never hurts to add a player who started 71 games the previous season AND a future second-round pick for free.
Next: What does Redick’s contract means moving forward?
While only time will tell if Chandler can help ease the loss of Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova on Coach Brown’s second unit, or if he will even make the team, as they may attempt to trade him once more, or buy him out of his contract, right now let’s all welcome the newest member of the Philadelphia 76ers, Wilson Chandler, to the City of Brotherly Love.