Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers treated Robert Covington unfairly with news of trade

By Dan Parzych

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 16: Robert Covington #33 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to being called for a foul against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter of the game at Target Center on November 16, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Timberwolves are debuting their City Jerseys honoring the late artist Prince. The Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 112-96. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 16: Robert Covington #33 of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to being called for a foul against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter of the game at Target Center on November 16, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Timberwolves are debuting their City Jerseys honoring the late artist Prince. The Timberwolves defeated the Trail Blazers 112-96. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Turns out, Robert Covington found out about his trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves through social media before the Philadelphia 76ers could actually inform the forward.

Without question, it was difficult to see the Philadelphia 76ers send Robert Covington to the Minnesota Timberwolves back in November as part of the deal to land Jimmy Butler, mainly due to how much he had been through with the organization throughout his career.

Despite all of the years of rebuilding and being part of “the process” when the Sixers were arguably in tank mode, Covington always gave it his all while never complaining about the situation since most players would never be able to handle it.

With that being said, Philadelphia finally emerging as a serious contender in the Eastern Conference by reaching the semifinals of the playoffs as a result of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons finally being healthy together made the wait seem well worth it for players like Covington.

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However, Covington always seemed to know there was a chance that he could be part of a trade package one day when seeing how interested the Sixers were in bringing another star player on board, which turned out be exactly the case with Butler.

As bad as it sounds, Butler seemed like a major upgrade at the forward position for Philadelphia when compared to Covington when looking at the impact he’s made in the NBA over the years during his time with the Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls.

But when it comes to how Covington found out about the trade, well let’s just say the Sixers looked like they messed up by not acting fast enough to tell their former forward the news.

Sixers beat writer Sarah Todd recently did an interesting piece on Covington, who discussed how he found out about the trade on social media right before a team meeting while they were in Memphis.

Even if Brett Brown and Elton Brand shared the news to Covington shortly after, a player like this should never have to find out about a trade they’re involved in through social media, mainly because it just seems completely unprofessional.

Philadelphia can’t even use the excuse of not realizing that the news would get out as quickly as it did because at the end of the day, they should have taken the proper approach to make sure Covington was the first to know before it started to blow up on social media.

It’s no wonder the trade left a bad taste in Covington’s mouth since any player would be frustrated to find out a career changing move like this from just randomly scrolling through social media, and he certainly deserves a ton of credit for handling it all like a true professional.

Fans can say what they want about Covington now that he’s no longer in the picture, but it’s tough to feel negative towards a player who had been through a lot with the team over the years, both good and bad.

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Hopefully after hearing how this all played out with Covington when he was traded, the Sixers will learn from their mistakes to make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future. Because at the end of the day, Covington isn’t going to be the last key player to be involved with a trade in Philadelphia, so they need to handle the situation much better next time.