The trade deadline is approaching, and the Philadelphia 76ers are still trying to acquire more draft picks, trying to use Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes as bait to convince a team to give them a first round pick.
The Sixers aren’t likely to trade both players who become free agents at the end of the season, but are hoping that either one of them is going to be worth a first round pick to someone in the league. Hawes is listed for $6.5 million this season and Turner for $6.7 million.
The problem for the Sixers? Both players are free agents at the end of the season, so why should teams give up a first round draft pick if they know they can get these two (Turner is restricted) for “free” in the offseason? Contending teams who might have a lot of use for these players in lessened roles don’t have the cap space to add them for just a draft pick, and aren’t that inclined to mess up the system by giving up another player to make the deal work.
There’s also the matter of quality. Turner is averaging 17.8 points and 6 rebounds per game, but these numbers are misleading. The 76ers play in a fast pace offense which bloats certain numbers, but he’s only shooting 28.1% from beyond the arc this season (career 31.4% shooter) but his true shooting percetage of 50.9% and his effective field goal numbers of 45.5% are below the league average, which means he might not be worth a first round pick.
As for Hawes, he’s a reliable center with decent numbers (15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per 36 minutes) but his shooting is disappointing for a big man, not being dominant in the paint (46.5% from the field) and his defense makes him quite the liability against certain teams, although he’s not getting much help from his teammates. Unlike other 7-foot players, Hawes does bring a team the ability to use him as a power forward to stretch the floor, shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc this season.