Philadelphia 76ers: 3 players most likely to be traded before deadline
By Derek Hryn
3. Wilson Chandler
Wilson Chandler is definitely an option to package in a trade deadline deal. Though he has been in the starting lineup for the sidelined Jimmy Butler (wrist), he is also playing on an expiring contract of $12.8 million. It’s likely the Sixers will shop him around to fill a more urgent need for the team’s second wind this year.
To make matters worse for Chandler, Philly may have found his replacement sooner rather than later.
In a fortuitous turn of events, 12-year veteran Corey Brewer exceeded expectations on his first 10-day contract, and has looked even more fitting on the roster since the front office granted him an additional 10 games.
To put it simply, Brewer has been a winner for most of his career — from two NCAA titles with the Florida Gators in college, to earning an NBA ring on the 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks. At this point for the Sixers, they have to think about locking the guard/wing down for the rest of this year.
Feb. 2 will be judgment day for Brewer, as the team will either opt to release, or retain him for the season.
The Sixers’ major turning point in the 2017-18 season was sparked by the midseason acquisitions of veterans Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, whose production led the team to a 17-game win streak to close out a 52-30 regular season, and a first round series victory over the Miami Heat in five games.
To assume that will happen again this year just wouldn’t be fair to Belinelli and Illyasova — because it was too special what became of them.
But now in a similar scenario with an accomplished player like Brewer, also in a position where he is fighting extra hard for his career, it definitely leaves the Sixers with something to ponder when it comes to Chandler.