Report: Philadelphia 76ers to exercise contract option of Robert Covington

Ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have exercised their option on the contract of forward Robert Covington.

Unlike the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft, this decision was a lay-up for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ front office.

President of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo announced that the Sixers have exercised their option on the contract of forward Robert Covington. This was seen as a straight-forward decision considering the team-friendly nature of his $1.57 million deal this upcoming season.

Covington again demonstrated that he ranks among the premier wing defenders in the league, averaging 1.9 steals (fourth in the league) and 1.0 blocks per game from the small forward spot.

His impact at the defensive end can also be demonstrated by how the Sixers performed as a team. When Covington was on the floor this season, they had a defensive rating of 103.3 (points allowed per 100 possessions), which would rank fifth in the league over the course of the season.

But when he was off the court, this number ballooned to 109.9, equivalent to 28th in the league.

Covington is currently on the mend after undergoing surgery on the knee injury that prematurely ended his 2016-17 campaign. Aside from his defensive prowesses, Covington also averaged 12.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game.

The main downside throughout Covington’s career, though, has been his shooting. This season he shot 39.9 percent from field, marking the third successive season of not breaking the 40 percent barrier. A relatively streaky shooter, Covington also converted at a 33.3 percent clip from three-point range on 6.1 attempts per game.

Picking up the option on Covington’s contract gives the Sixers a number of options moving forward. First, it gives them the option of signing him to a larger extension down the track, and therefore shoring up the small forward slot for the coming years.

Also, considering players of the caliber of Jayson Tatum of Duke and Josh Jackson of Kansas are likely to be available at their selection, the Sixers can potentially utilize Covington as a significant trade chip ahead of the draft on June 22. They could also potentially package Covington and the No. 3 pick and chase a significant piece to immediately improve the Sixers’ roster.

Recently, Colangelo left open the possibility of moving their pick ahead of the draft:

"“It’s good to be at three. We’re excited about the pick. We think we’re going to add a great player or we’re going to have some leverage in discussions with other teams about certain situations that we might entertain.”"

Next summer, Covington will become a free agent, at which point he is going to command a significant pay rise from his current arrangement.

In addition to Covington, Philly will also have center Joel Embiid and guard Nik Stauskas coming out of contract next summer.

Assuming he can stay healthy, Embiid is certain to attract a maximum extension, while Stauskas proved this season to have the potential to be a key rotation player in the coming years.

Next: 2017 NBA Draft - 5 teams that should trade picks

For the meantime, picking up the contract option of the 26-year-old was simply a no-brainer from the Sixers’ perspective.