Philadelphia 76ers: Trading Simmons is the best move of the night

Despite actually adding players in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers best move of the night might have actually been trading Jonathon Simmons to the Washington Wizards.

In the weirdest twist of fate, the Philadelphia 76ers added a 6-foot-5 guard out of Washington with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and subsequently used the 42nd overall pick to ship another 6-foot-5 guard out of town to Washington (D.C.).

What are the odds?

While it may not generate a ton of headlines (except for this one obviously), Elton Brand may have pulled off his best  move of the night by shipping 2019 trade deadline acquisition Jonathon Simmons to the Washington Wizards has to be in the running for the best move of the night, despite adding actual players like Matisse Thybulle and Bruno Fernando 24th and 34th overall.

Here’s why:

At the beginning of the night, the Sixers only had five players under contract, with five draft picks to use however they’d like. The team also had $46 million invested into their 2019-20 roster with up to $56 million in practical cap space available.

That may seem like a lot of money – and it is – but with three of the team’s starting five set to hit the unrestricted open market, and a need to almost completely rebuild their bench around Zhaire Smith and Jonah Bolden, it was going to get spent up in a hurry come June 30th.

Of that $46 million, almost $6 of it was allotted to pay (the other) Simmons – which is a lot for a player who fell out of Brett Brown‘s playoff rotation due to a lack of outside shooting (Simmons is among the worst statistical offensive shooting guards in the league).

While his money was only partially guaranteed, trading him to the Wizards, even if it cost the 42nd overall pick, is the right move to ensure maximum flexibility as the team turns its eyes to free agency.

Who knows, that $5.7 million could be used to keep a much more valuable player like Mike Scott, or James Ennis in a Sixers uniform and #runitback for the forthcoming season.

Factor in his redundancies with Thybulle now on the roster – as the 22-year-old rookie to be is already a better player – and it’s hard to find a roster spot for Jonathon Simmons on the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.