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Sixers Sign Andre Drummond To One-Year Deal

August 4th, 2021 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 4: The Sixers have officially signed Drummond, the team announced today in a press release. Minimum-salary signings are one of the transactions that can be formally completed during the free agency moratorium.

AUGUST 3: The Sixers have reached an agreement with free agent center Andre Drummond on a one-year deal, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link), it’s a minimum-salary contract.

It’s an interesting fit for Drummond, who – as a member of the Pistons and Cavaliers – has had some fierce battles with 76ers center Joel Embiid over the years. In 2021/22, he’ll be Embiid’s backup in the middle, taking the spot previously occupied by Dwight Howard, who has agreed to return to the Lakers, Drummond’s most recent team.

Drummond, who will turn 28 next Tuesday, is one of the NBA’s best rebounders, having led the league in the category in four separate seasons. In 2020/21, he averaged 14.9 PPG and 12.0 RPG in 46 total games (27.0 MPG) for the Cavs and Lakers.

Drummond has spent much of his NBA career putting up big numbers for lottery teams or borderline playoff clubs. He joined the Lakers last season hoping to contribute to a winner, but fell out of the team’s rotation entirely by the time L.A. was eliminated by Phoenix in Game 6 of the opening round. In Philadelphia, he’ll be looking once again to prove he can be a reliable role player on a title-contending club.

The Sixers, who have agreed to re-sign Furkan Korkmaz via his Bird rights and Drummond to a minimum-salary contract, still have the mid-level exception at their disposal in free agency.

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Sixers Sign Jaden Springer To Rookie Contract

August 4th, 2021 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have signed first-round pick Jaden Springer to his rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Springer, who will turn 19 in September, played a single season at Tennessee before declaring for the draft as an early entrant. The 6’4″ guard averaged 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .467/.435/.810 shooting in 25 games (25.5 MPG) as a freshman.

There was a belief leading up to the draft that Philadelphia might trade the No. 28 overall pick, but the team ended up hanging onto it and using it to select Springer.

Assuming he signs for 120% of his rookie scale amount, as nearly every first-round pick does, Springer will earn approximately $2.02MM as a rookie and could make up to $10.39MM over the life of his four-year deal.

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Sixers Re-Sign Rayjon Tucker To Two-Way Deal

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Rayjon Tucker is back under contract with the Sixers on a new two-way deal, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.

After going undrafted out of Little Rock in 2019, Tucker spent much of his rookie season with the Jazz, but was dealt to Cleveland in the 2020 offseason and was subsequently waived. He spent training camp last December with the Clippers, then signed a two-way deal with the Sixers in January.

The 6’3″ guard appeared in just 14 games for Philadelphia, averaging 2.4 PPG and 0.8 RPG in 4.9 minutes per contest. He was a full-time starter for the Delaware Blue Coats during the abridged G League season, however, recording 19.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG in 15 games (33.0 MPG).

The Sixers finished the 2020/21 season with Tucker and Gary Clark on two-way deals, then tendered a qualifying offer to Tucker to make him a restricted free agent. Tucker may have simply accepted that QO, which is the equivalent of another two-way deal.

For now, Tucker occupies one of Philadelphia’s two-way slots and undrafted rookie Aaron Henry is reportedly poised to fill the other. However, two-way contracts don’t count against the cap and aren’t burdensome to move on from, so there’s no guarantee the 76ers won’t make changes to those two-way slots at some point this season.

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Sixers Sign Georges Niang To Two-Year Deal

August 3rd, 2021 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Sixers have officially signed Niang, the team announced today in a press release.

“Georges is a talented player who can stretch the floor and he immediately bolsters our frontcourt depth,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “He has shot over 40-percent from three for his career and has steadily improved his overall game each season he’s been in the NBA. We’re excited to welcome him to Philadelphia.”

AUGUST 3: The Sixers have agreed to terms on a two-year deal with free agent forward Georges Niang, according to Ben Dowsett, who reports (via Twitter) that Niang’s contract will be worth $6.7MM.

Niang, 28, has spent the last four seasons in Utah after beginning his NBA career with the Pacers. He had his best season in 2020/21, earning regular minutes (16.0 MPG) for a Jazz squad that finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record.

Niang appeared in all 72 games, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG with an impressive .425 3PT%. It was the third straight year in which he made at least 40% of his three-point attempts. The former Iowa State standout also has the size necessary to match up with threes and fours on defense.

We’ll have to wait to see what other moves Philadelphia makes this week before we know exactly how the team completes the Niang signing. Based on the reported terms of the agreement, it would comfortably fit within either the mid-level exception or the bi-annual exception, though Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com (Twitter link) suggests the plan is to use part of the MLE.

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier today that Niang was on Philadelphia’s radar.

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Free Agency Roundup: Rose, Bjelica, Suns, Vanderbilt, Niang, Schroder

August 3rd, 2021 at 6:12pm CST by Eli Cohen

Derrick Rose had received interest from the Pelicans, Wizards, Bulls, and Heat before re-signing with the Knicks, write Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today. The USA Today adds that Kyle Lowry signing with the Heat helped usher Rose back to the Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau. Rose agreed to a three-year, $43MM deal on Monday.

In the same piece, Zillgitt and Medina write that five other teams considered signing Nemanja Bjelica with their mid-level exception, but Bjelica prioritized signing with the Warriors instead. Bjelica agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum earlier today.

We have more free agency rumors:

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Sixers Waive George Hill

August 3rd, 2021 at 5:40pm CST by Luke Adams

5:40pm: The Sixers have officially waived Hill, announcing the move in a press release.

12:12am: The Sixers are planning to waive veteran guard George Hill, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hill, acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline in March, is currently under contract for 2021/22 with a cap hit of $10.05MM. However, only about $1.28MM of that salary is guaranteed, so the Sixers can save some money and generate a little extra cap flexibility by releasing him before his salary guarantee deadline this week.

Hill, who began the 2020/21 season with Oklahoma City, averaged 8.7 PPG and 2.4 APG on .482/.388/.800 shooting in 30 total contests (22.4 MPG) for the Thunder and Sixers. He didn’t make much of an impact in the postseason for Philadelphia, with just 4.7 PPG and 1.5 APG in 12 playoff games (17.1 MPG).

While Hill wasn’t exactly a bargain on his $10MM salary, he’d be a worthwhile investment at a lower rate. If and when he clears waivers, he should receive interest from teams looking to add an affordable veteran guard to their bench.

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Furkan Korkmaz Re-Signs With Sixers

August 2nd, 2021 at 6:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 9: The Sixers have officially re-signed Korkmaz, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 2: The Sixers have agreed to re-sign wing Furkan Korkmaz on a three-year, $15MM contract, agents Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’s a fully guaranteed deal, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Philadelphia has full Bird rights on Korkmaz, which will allow the team to ink him without cutting into its mid-level exception, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Korkmaz was a late first-round pick in 2016 and joined Philadelphia the following season. Last season, he appeared in 55 games, including 11 starts, and averaged 9.1 PPG. He’s a career 37.7% 3-point shooter and he’s taken 786 of his 1,260 career shot attempts from beyond the arc.

He’ll once again add depth at the small forward spot for an organization angling to make deeper playoff runs.

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Trade Rumors: Simmons, Baynes, Lakers, Cash

August 2nd, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

David Aldridge of The Athletic is the latest reporter to confirm that the Sixers‘ asking price for Ben Simmons remains “sky high.” According to Aldridge, the 76ers are seeking a minimum of two future first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, and an All-Star level player in most of their discussions about Simmons. A handful of other reports within the last week have passed along details on what kind of packages Philadelphia sought from Toronto, San Antonio, and Golden State for Simmons.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA, with free agency about to begin:

  • The Raptors are exploring the trade market for center Aron Baynes, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Baynes has a non-guaranteed $7.35MM salary for 2021/22 and seems unlikely to return to Toronto. If the team doesn’t find a taker on the trade market, he’s a candidate to be released.
  • In an in-depth look at how the Lakers‘ acquisition of Russell Westbrook came about, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shares several fascinating tidbits, including the fact that Westbrook called Kawhi Leonard in 2019 to talk about playing together in Los Angeles. According to Shelburne, the Lakers had been prepared to move forward on a Buddy Hield acquisition before the opportunity to land Westbrook arose.
  • Within his recap of last week’s draft activity, John Hollinger of The Athletic provides a housekeeping notes on trades, writing that the Trail Blazers sent $2MM in cash to the Pelicans as part of their trade for the No. 43 pick, while the Thunder sent $2MM in cash to the Jazz in the Derrick Favors trade.
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Harris Rumor Likely Old News

August 2nd, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • A report that the Sixers are shopping Tobias Harris isn’t accurate, a source familiar with the situation tells Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. It’s likely that the Harris trade rumor is old news, since his name came up as part of a larger deal with the Rockets earlier this year before James Harden was dealt to the Nets.
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Mannix’s Latest: Smart, Ball, Blazers, Simmons, Oladipo, Z. Collins

August 2nd, 2021 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics guard Marcus Smart is extension-eligible this offseason, but president of basketball operations Brad Stevens – who has coached Smart for the last several seasons – has been frustrated by his “unpredictable play,” sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com.

Two people familiar with the Celtics’ thinking tell Mannix that Smart appears more likely to be traded than extended before the start of the 2021/22 season. When Boston shopped Smart last season, the team sought multiple first-round picks, but one Eastern Conference executive who spoke to Mannix suggests the guard’s value is more along the lines of one first-rounder and possibly a rotational player.

Here’s more from Mannix:

  • Although re-signing Lonzo Ball doesn’t seem to be the Pelicans‘ top priority in free agency, several rival executives expect New Orleans to match any offer Ball receives if the club strikes out on its top free agent point guard targets, writes Mannix. That would allow the Pels to avoid losing Ball for nothing and would create the option of trading him down the road.
  • The Trail Blazers haven’t given any indications at this point that they intend to deal Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum, according to Mannix, who says forward Nicolas Batum is among the free agents on Portland’s radar.
  • The Sixers‘ asking price for Ben Simmons remains high. “Forget a Harden haul,” one exec in contact with the 76ers said to Mannix. “They want what Boston got for KG and Pierce.”
  • Mannix adds the Mavericks to the list of teams that are expected to show interest in point guard Dennis Schröder.
  • Teams are “increasingly wary” of Victor Oladipo‘s long-term health and multiple executives believe the two-time All-Star may go unsigned for a few months while he gets healthy following his latest quad tendon surgery, says Mannix.
  • Mannix believes the Thunder could be in the mix for Zach Collins, observing that the big man is the kind of low-risk/high-reward player that Sam Presti loves.
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