Philadelphia 76ers: Richaun Holmes is a hot trade commodity

Buckle up, folks, we are officially in NBA trade season.

That’s right, with the December 15th free agent trade moratorium long since passed and the January 15th moratorium on a select group of extended players checked off the calendar too, teams the association over are evaluating their rosters and looking for the best way to move pieces around to better achieve their ultimate goal, be that a championship or asset accumulation.

For fans of the Philadelphia 76ers, this is a special time of year. Where Sam Hinkie would once cash out on any so and so for a box of donuts if a second round pick was involved, his predecessors have been fairly happy to cash out on the team’s assembled war chest of assets for short-term help, even if none of those mid-season upgrades, from Alec Burks to Glenn Robinson III, and most recently George Hill are still in the roster to this day.

But hey, as crazy as it may be to believe, there are, in fact, other NBA teams who are looking to make deals that have nothing to do with Ben Simmons. Heck, some of them might even involve former players of your hometown Philadelphia 76ers, including a certain Bowling Green-educated big man who was once traded by Brett Brown for $1 million.

Richaun Holmes has spread his wings away from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Every team in the NBA could use a player like Richaun Holmes.

He’s an athletic rim runner who can cover multiple positions, protect the rim, even shoot a little bit from deep, even if he’s largely removed that element from his game since leaving the Philadelphia 76ers for Phoenix and eventually Sacramento.

On a team like the Suns, or the Sixers, Holmes would be a top-tier 1b who is better than any option populating either Doc Rivers’ or Igor Kokoskov’s bench – no offense to Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee – and in Sacramento, Golden State, and more than a few other teams around the NBA for that matter? Well, Holmes could likely start over their other on-roster options.

That, my friends, is a big reason why Holmes is such an intriguing trade target with the 2022 NBA trade deadline less than three weeks away. Another reason he could be in demand is his contract, which is only worth $10.38 million in 2021-22 and runs through the 2024-25 season.

For a team like, well, like the Kings, who don’t land marquee free agents all that often, trading for a player like Holmes makes a ton of sense. So why, if Holmes is a darn good player on a really good contract, why is he reportedly drawing interest at the deadline, interest that could legitimately end in a trade?

Easy: The Kings are bad.

Crazy, right? When a team is bad and the presence of a good but not elite center isn’t going to affect their win total all that much either way, why not make a move, especially if they can drum up a bit of a bidding war that ultimately results in a lightly protected first round pick? For a team acquiring Holmes, his addition would almost be like a fully formed draft pick in that he is under contract through 2024 and will only be 32 when his current deal runs out. If the money works out and such a team feels like they are a frontcourt upgrade away from taking a step further into the playoff picture, why not make a darn move and see what happens?

For Holmes’ sake, let’s hope such a deal actually goes down, as he’s only logged 11 playoff minutes so far in his seven-year NBA career.

There’s no doubt about it: The Philadelphia 76ers lost the Richaun Holmes trade. While we don’t exactly know what the team used the $1 million they received from the Phoenix Suns on – maybe a copy machine? – it’s clear Holmes’ on-court production would have been much more valuable for the Sixers, especially after watching Greg Monroe play meaningful minutes in the playoffs. If there’s any poetic justice, Holmes will be traded once more, and finally finds a home where he can shine.