When discussing the Philadelphia 76ers’ future and the core in which Sam Hinkie will aim to build a respectable team around, the usual names that arise are Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
Each of the three were recent lottery picks by the Sixers, but according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com, there’s some interest around the league in obtaining the services of Sixers’ guard, Robert Covington, although, Philadelphia seems to have Covington included in their long-term future.
"A few NBA teams have placed interest in Philadelphia 76ers forward Robert Covington, but the 24-year-old sharpshooter has been made largely unavailable from trade inquiries as a core part of the franchise’s long-term plans, league sources told RealGM."
The interest reportedly being shown from around the league is to be expected, as Covington has done well to show his worth since signing with the Sixers on Nov. 15. Over the course of his 31 games played and 19 starts this season, Covington has become one of the Sixers’ most reliable scoring options at 12.4 points per game, which is good for third on the team.
Covington has also been Philadelphia’s leading option from the perimeter, as he’s knocking down .395 percent of his attempts from deep. Even more impressive from the former undrafted forward out of Tennessee State – and what’s likely made him a keeper in Philly – is Covington’s knack for putting up points in bunches consistently.
Outside of Covington’s first eight games as a Sixers, in which he was seeing limited minutes as he tried to find his role within the team, he’s now scored in double figures in all but six games, including putting up at least 16 points 12 times.
It now makes a little more sense as to why Philadelphia’s beloved “Big Shot Bob” is said to be a part of the bigger picture down the road for the Sixers.
But the only question that still remains is just how big of a role do the Sixers see Covington playing for them to make him “largely unavailable” in trade discussions?
There’s really no correct answer to that question, but one thing for sure is the franchise must have some lofty expectations for their first-year forward if they are resisting some trade conversations that would very likely include two of Hinkie’s favorite things; disposable assets and future second-round draft picks.
Based off his efforts from this season thus far, it would appear that the absolute minimum role Covington would take control of down the road would be a scoring sixth man for a playoff team. This would come with the assumption that the tanking ultimately pays off for the Sixers and one or two of their early lottery picks lives up to expectations, thus, making the Sixers an actual good team.
But then there’s also the hopes that Covington develops into a 20-point per night scorer and fills a vastly empty role as a scorer in the Sixers’ starting lineup, although, meeting somewhere in the middle of that and a bench scorer is the most likely scenario.
Regardless of how impactful Covington turns out to be for the Sixers, there’s one definite positive to walk away with from these reports: the Sixers may finally start establishing their foundation and begin to avoid trading everyone that has proven to help them win. That’s a huge step in the right direction.