Ersan Ilyasova won’t clear waivers until Wednesday, but Trevor Booker is already bracing for the possibility that the Sixers’ agreement with Ilyasova could bring his time in Philadelphia to an end. Booker said today that he has “heard from a couple different people” that he could be bought out, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
[RELATED: Hawks, Ersan Ilyasova finalize buyout; Ilyasova to sign with Sixers]
“I’ve talked to my agent,” Booker said. “It’s a possibility. But I’m not worried about anything. … At the end of the day, everything is going to work out the best for me.”
While Pompey refers to the possibility of a buyout, Booker is more likely to be released outright by the Sixers, who don’t have much leverage to ask for money back. Having already reached a tentative agreement with Ilyasova, who was bought out by the Hawks on Monday, the Sixers have a full 15-man roster and will need to waive a player to make room for their new power forward.
Booker, acquired earlier this season in a trade that sent a second-round pick and Jahlil Okafor to the Nets, has been solid since arriving in Philadelphia. In 33 games (15.0 MPG), the veteran has averaged 4.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG with a career-high .560 FG%. However, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic detailed on Monday, Booker’s contract and his positional overlap with Ilyasova make him the player most likely to be waived, if only by the process of elimination.
If the Sixers cut Booker, he shouldn’t have trouble finding a new NBA home, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. The 30-year-old forward agreed with that assessment, as Pompey writes. “If I do get waived or bought out, whatever it is, I have a lot of teams interested in me,” Booker said on Tuesday. If he’s released on Wednesday or Thursday, Booker would retain his eligibility for the playoffs.
Really like Bookers game. I could see him going to SA, GS, or CLE
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