Philadelphia 76ers Play Facilitator, Add Ronny Turiaf, 2nd-Round Pick
By Cody Daniel
The Philadelphia 76ers’ general manager, Sam Hinkie, was again active in trade discussions Friday night, and just as you can expect, there was a second-round draft involved. This came as a part of three-team trade between the Sixers, Rockets and Timberwolves.
The deal included Houston sending Troy Daniels to Minnesota for Corey Brewer.
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But where the Sixers played a part in the trade came by shipping the former Minnesota guard, and the Sixers’ fourth leading scorer this season with 9.9 points per game away as Alexey Shved is headed to Houston in exchange for Ronny Turiaf, the rights to Sergei Lishouk, and of course, Houston’s 2015 second-round draft pick.
As you can tell by the names involved in the trade, this is far from a blockbuster move by any stretch, but this move could potentially have a rather notable impact on the youthful Sixers in a variety of ways.
Whether it has been noticeable or not, Hinkie is slowly and quietly ridding his Sixers of guys who aren’t expected to be around long-term. We have seen this countless times during his reign as GM, with the most recent being the departure of Brandon Davies, and now Shved, of course.
With Shved being out of town, guys like Robert Covington – who is often affectionately referred to as “Big Shot Bob” by Sixers’ fans – Hollis Thompson and K.J. McDaniels, who is proving as a rookie why he could have a bright future as a Sixer.
With Shved’s 16.8 minutes per game as a Sixer needing someone else to step in fill that role, what will likely be reasonably fair distribution of minutes between Covington, Thompson and McDaniels will give each more of an opportunity to showcase what they can do with some significant minutes in their efforts to solidify a position in this league beyond the infamous Sixers’ tank.
But the slow elimination of guys who aren’t expected to be around in the future is just as important as the guys who will have that opportunity to step up with more minutes. When you look at the Sixers’ roster, it’s filled with guys many people may not know, as well as several guys who could very easily not be on a NBA roster next season.
With such inferior talent, it’s almost impossible to compete consistently, which can be seen with the Sixers’ 2-23 record thus far.
For the Sixers to be able to start slimming down their rotation and rely solely upon the seven or eight guys who have proven to give the Sixers the best chance to win is surely a long-term goal, and getting rid of one guy at a time en route to that is a sign of progress.
And then there’s the infamous second-round draft pick addiction of Hinkie’s, which, with Houston’s 2015 pick, now gives the Sixers six picks in the 2015 draft, with four of them being second round picks.
These aren’t usually expected to be picks that produce crucial assets, but keep in mind that McDaniels was a second-round steal and he’s looking towards a very bright future in Philly if he chooses to remain there.
There’s no telling what kind of guys will be available when those picks come into play, but as I just mentioned, the Sixers are just looking to find players who can be a part of a solidified roster and contribute consistently down the road.
As for what the Sixers will do with Turiaf and Lishouk…the two of them will likely both be waived before ever seeing a game in the Wells Fargo Center.
Turiaf is expected to miss the entirety of the 2014-15 season after recently undergoing hip surgery, while Lishouk is currently overseas playing for Liga ACB team Valencia.