Sixers Land 3 Players, Draft Pick in Trade With Kings

The Philadelphia 76ers acquired three players, as well as a future first-round pick and other draft considerations, in a trade with the Sacramento Kings last night. The trade can not be made official until July 9th. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the deal.

The Sixers sent a second-round pick and two European players drafted late in the second round of last month’s draft to the Kings, Arturas Gudaitis (47th pick) and Luka Mitrovic (60th pick). In return, the 76ers got a first-round pick in 2018, Nik Stauskas (the 8th overall pick in 2014) and veteran big men Cary Landry and Jason Thompson. The Sixers also got the right to swap first-rounders with the Kings in 2016 and 2017.

This is quite a haul for the Sixers for two players who were just picked late in the second round last month. The Sixers were rumored to have liked Stauskas back in the 2014 draft, but he was taken before the Sixers made their second first-round pick. (They previously took Joel Embiid third overall that year.) The Kings were willing to part with Stauskas (and draft considerations) in order to cut the salaries of Landry ($6.5 million) and Thompson ($6.4 million).

Stauskas was a high pick last year, but struggled to get on the court on a bad Kings team (just 15 minutes a game) and scored only 4.4 points a game — low numbers, especially for a guy expected to be a shooter. Still, he might instantly be the best shooter the Sixers have. (The previous best shooter was, um, Robert Covington.)

The Sixers can take on salary because they’re still so far below the salary cap (and even the salary floor). They suddenly have a bunch of big men, so they could cut Landry and/or Thompson. Landry scored 7.2 points a game last season, while Thompson averaged 6.1 a game. (Thompson was born in Mount Laurel, went to Lenape for high school and Rider for college.)

Additionally, the Sixers picked up a ton of draft consideration. Derek Bodner explains the Sixers have essentially improved their lottery odds the next two seasons (unless the free agents the Kings sign dramatically turn the team around). They’ll also get a draft pick at some point in the future — a top-10 protected pick in 2018 — but who knows if any of us will even be alive at that point.

Analysts around the NBA seem to like the deal, though it’s more that they hate the deal for the Kings rather than like it for the Sixers. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton gave the Kings an F. Deadspin wrote the Sixers fleeced the Kings.

I know Vivek is pretty big on outside-the-box thinking but having @TheOnion run the Kings is his most daring move yet.

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) July 2, 2015

Still getting details on the pick swaps, which may not end up mattering. But…that is, umm, not great for the Kings.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 2, 2015

In short: This move is another part of The Process. This time, however, it made the team a little better for next season! Stauskas will get a chance to replicate his strong shooting in college after a disappointing first year, and the two big men will give the team a lot of depth in the frontcourt (if the Sixers keep them). Hey, maybe they’re win… 25 games next season? Thirty games? A man can dream.