The Philadelphia 76ers got a bargain in the Mike Muscala trade
By Larry Mendte
The Philadelphia 76ers traded two players who weren’t going to crack the rotation for a much-needed 3-point shooting big in Mike Muscala.
The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a player they desperately needed for next to nothing.
On paper, the Sixers gave up guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and fourth-year wing Justin Anderson to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal headlined by Carmelo Anthony going to the Hawks. In return, the 76ers got back center Mike Muscala from the Hawks.
Luwawu-Cabarrot and Anderson were not going to make the regular rotation. The Sixers drafted their replacements, Texas Tech swingman Zhaire Smith and Wichita State guard Landry Shamet, in the first round off the 2018 NBA Draft. The head-turning emergence of Turkish star Furkan Korkmaz in the NBA Summer League further complicated an already tight roster.
What the 76ers didn’t have was a replacement for sharp shooting big man Ersan Ilyasova. The free agent signed a three-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers replaced him with Nemanja Bjelica, specifically because of his ability to stretch the floor, but when Bjelica reneged on his agreement with the team, they were left with a big hole in their rotation.
The 6’11” Muscala fills that hole. He can play both backup center and power forward, but most importantly, the 27-year-old has a career 3-point shooting percentage of 37.8. He’s shot over 40 percent from behind the arc for an entire season twice in his career.
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Generated 7/19/2018.
Muscala is much more that just a quick fix to the Bjelica shock snub. He not only gives the 76ers more rotation flexibility, because he can play more than one position, but he is a pretty good defensive player.
The Bucknell University star and second round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft is scheduled to make $5 million in the second year of a two-year contract.
Withe the addition of Muscala, the Sixers’ lineup seems to be set. Ben Simmons, J.J. Reddick, Dario Saric, Robert Covington and Joel Embid are the starters. Markelle Fultz, T.J. McConnell, Landry Shamet and Furkan Korkmaz are the guards on the bench. Muscala, Zhaire Smith, Wilson Chandler and Jonah Bolden are the backup forwards. Richaun Holmes and Amir Johnson will back up Embid.
The two-for-one trade will open up a roster spot for Bolden, an Australian and Summer League standout who the Sixers are high on. Bolden is an athletic 6’10” forward with defensive range.
So the newcomers to the 76ers’ roster will be two rotation role players, Muscala and Chandler, and a fascinating group of young players, Smith, Shamet, Korkmaz and Bolden.
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
It’s not quite as exciting as LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard, but these are strong building blocks for a team that just keeps getting better and younger.