- The Sixers were victorious on Thursday in the first game of what could be a multi-week absence for Joel Embiid, but Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports argues the team should still be worried about not having its star center active. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Bobby Marks point out (via Twitter) that Norvel Pelle only has five NBA days left on his two-way contract and will have to return to the G League soon if Philadelphia doesn’t open up a 15-man roster spot for him.
Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Pacers assigned Victor Oladipo to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for practice as part of his injury rehab, per the team (Twitter link). Oladipo is targeting a January 29 return to action.
- The Magic assigned swingman Melvin Frazier to the G League, according to the team (Twitter link). Frazier has bounced back and forth between the NBA and NBAGL this season, with 11 appearances for Orlando and three for Lakeland.
- After re-signing him to a 10-day contract today, the Cavaliers sent Tyler Cook to the Canton Charge, the team noted in a press release. We have more on Cook’s new deal right here.
- The Clippers assigned rookies Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the G League, the club announced today. The Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario are in action on Thursday night and both Kabengele and Mann are in the starting lineup for L.A.’s affiliate.
- According to the G League’s assignment log, the Sixers sent Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats today, while the Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars.
- Derek Bodner of Rich Hofmann of The Athletic preview the Sixers‘ trade options and examine whether Matisse Thybulle should be viewed as untouchable. Their verdict? Moving Thybulle should only be considered if the team has a chance to acquire an impact player in a major deal.
5:17pm: Embiid will undergo surgery on his left hand in New York tomorrow and will be re-evaluated in one or two weeks, according to the Sixers.
4:27pm: Sixers star center Joel Embiid has suffered a torn radial collateral ligament of the fourth metacarpal in his left hand, the team announced today in a press release. According to the 76ers, there’s no return timetable set for Embiid, who is evaluating potential treatment options.
Embiid, 25, had been his usual dominant self through 31 games for the Sixers, posting 23.4 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG while anchoring one of the league’s best defenses and staying relatively healthy. However, he dislocated his left ring finger during Monday night’s game and it now appears that injury is a little more serious than initially feared.
Asked tonight whether Embiid would be out for the “foreseeable future,” head coach Brett Brown cautioned that it’s still too early to jump to conclusions.
“I don’t know about the foreseeable future,” Brown said, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter links). “It is disappointing for him not to play tonight, of course. … We’ll learn more, all of us, very soon.”
We’ll wait for an official update on how the Sixers and Embiid intend to treat the injury, but if the big man does miss some time, his absence figures to put more pressure on Ben Simmons to be the club’s primary play-maker and force Al Horford to play more minutes at the five.
Kyle O’Quinn could also see regular minutes, with little-used bigs like Norvel Pelle and Jonah Bolden sliding up on the depth chart as well.
The Sixers are parsing the trade market for reinforcements who can shoot the ball. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Philadelphia has expressed interest in several role players, including Malik Beasley, Glenn Robinson III, Davis Bertans, E’Twaun Moore, and Andre Iguodala. O’Connor adds that the team has also inquired on Robert Covington, whom the team dealt away in the Jimmy Butler deal last season.
Most of those names, including Covington, are truly available. The price for Minnesota’s wing is expected to be high and with Philadelphia void of shiny assets, GM Elton Brand will have to get creative if he is going to bring back Sam Hinkie’s former gem.
Zhaire Smith is the young prospect the team is most willing to part with. Rivals teams have more interest in Matisse Thybulle, though Philadelphia is reluctant to deal the No. 20 overall pick. The franchise owns all of its own draft picks starting in the 2021 draft, so the Sixers could attempt to sweeten any deal with a future asset.
Other names on that list could be more obtainable than RoCo. It’ll be tough to pry Bertans from Washington, as the team can envision him as a long-term piece, but Iguodala, Moore, and Robinson are in obvious selling situations. Denver won’t be a seller at the trade deadline, but with a deep rotation and Beasley’s impending restricted free agency, the franchise is smartly assessing the market for the shooting guard.
Here’s more on Philadelphia.
- O’Connor contends that the Sixers should consider making a bigger move for Chris Paul, swapping either Tobias Harris or Al Horford and additional salary for the 34-year-old point guard. However, the scribe hears that Harris and Horford, each of whom signed long-term deals this offseason, aren’t any more tradeable than CP3.
- Trading Simmons doesn’t appear likely, in part because it would mean “putting all your superstar eggs in the Embiid basket,” and the big man has had a shaky injury history. O’ Connor wonders if Simmons would be the one the team decides to build around if forced to choose between the two.
- Big changes will likely come with an early exit in the playoffs, though many around the game believe it would be Brett Brown who takes the fall in that scenario. There were rumblings that former team president Bryan Colangelo was planning to fire Brown and replace him with Villanova coach Jay Wright, but that was before Twittergate. Still, O’Connor hears from multiple sources that Brown didn’t have the best relationship with the locker room last season.
Sixers point guard Trey Burke has been informed he’ll remain with the team through Tuesday’s salary guarantee deadline, tweets Keith Pompey of Philly.com. As a result, Burke’s one-year, minimum-salary contract will become fully guaranteed. He’ll earn $2,028,594, with a $1,620,564 cap charge.
Burke, 27, earned the Sixers’ final roster spot this past fall along with the team’s 14 players on guaranteed contracts. While he was in and out of the rotation earlier in the season, he has appeared in each of the 76ers’ last nine games, averaging 7.7 PPG on .583/.571/.833 shooting during that stretch.
It was just over three weeks ago that Burke’s father took to Instagram to call for the Sixers to trade his son due to a lack of playing time. The former first-round pick quickly issued a statement indicating he didn’t share his father’s opinions on the matter, and his emergence as a regular role player in recent weeks helped secure his roster spot.
Head coach Brett Brown said today that Burke has exceeded his expectations and will likely remain in the mix even after Matisse Thybulle gets healthy, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com.
As a result of today’s decision, the Sixers will have a full 15-man roster going forward. That could limit Philadelphia’s options at the trade deadline to some extent, but the club doesn’t have immediate tax concerns, so a player with a guaranteed salary could be cut if necessary.
Sixers point guard Ben Simmons has stopped taking 3-pointers and coach Brett Brown considers it a personal failure, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps relays. Brown wants Simmons to take at least one long range shot per game but Simmons hasn’t attempted any in the past month.
“Evidently I have failed and it’s something that we’re all mindful of, and this is one of these things that is never going to go away,” Brown said of Simmons, who agreed to a five-year, $170MM extension with the Sixers over the summer. “The attention this has received is remarkable. But I guess i helped fuel it, and I own it, and I’ve got to help him find this, and most importantly, he has to find himself.”
While the Wizards have suggested both privately and publicly that they’re interested in retaining Davis Bertans beyond this season, that hasn’t stopped teams from showing interest in the veteran sharpshooter as next month’s trade deadline approaches.
According to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, the Celtics and Nuggets are among the teams that have emerged as possible suitors for Bertans. Hughes, who previously identified the Sixers, Lakers, and Hawks as teams to watch, suggests those clubs remain in the mix as well.
Bertans has been sidelined since December 21 with a quad injury and has been ruled out for Monday’s game against Boston, but appears to be nearing a return. Our Chris Crouse tweeted today that Bertans has a chance to be ready to play as soon as Wednesday in Orlando, while Hughes hears from a source that the 27-year-old should at least be back by the end of the weekend.
Assuming Bertans makes it back within the next week and picks up where he left off, the Wizards will face a tough choice at the February 6 deadline. Bertans, who is averaging 15.4 PPG with a .434 3PT%, has been one of the NBA’s most effective shooters and has shown some play-making ability too. He’s also on expiring contract.
The former Spur would be a hot commodity at the deadline and could net the rebuilding Wizards a strong asset or two. However, he may also make sense as a foundational long-term piece in Washington, assuming the team is willing to pay up for him this offseason. Hughes notes that many observers believe Bertans’ price tag will increase to $15MM+ annually this summer. He’s currently making $7MM.
- The reeling Sixers, losers of four straight games, will look for perimeter help at the trade deadline, sources tell ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The team will prioritize shooting wings with ball-handling skills. Philadelphia, currently 23-14 in the East, made just six of their three-point 27 attempts in a loss to the Rockets Friday night.
The Clippers and Sixers both have interest in acquiring Knicks forward Marcus Morris, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Morris’ playoff experience and expiring $15MM contract make him an attractive addition for any playoff contender. He is among several veterans who signed short-term deals with New York over the summer that carry little to no guaranteed money beyond this season.
With the Knicks in Los Angeles for a game today, Morris was asked about the possibility of joining the Clippers.
“Rumors are rumors,” he said. “Look, I told you before I’m in New York and love being here. I’m excited to help to turn this around. I’m not paying that any mind. I’m focused on what we got going on in this locker room.’’
Morris would likely be more interested in winding up in his hometown of Philadelphia. He said in July that playing close to home was among his reasons for backing out of a deal with the Spurs to join the Knicks.
Berman notes that the Sixers don’t have a first-rounder to offer in the 2020 draft, but they have four second-round picks. He adds that a third team would probably be needed to facilitate a deal, such as the Hawks, who are under the salary cap.
A source tells Berman that the Knicks may also be able to land second-round selections in exchange for Allonzo Trier and Wayne Ellington, who have both fallen out of the rotation.