Stay saucy, @NStauskas11! Good luck in Philly. #SauceCastillo pic.twitter.com/iNA2HAWVC6
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 10, 2015
Patrick Causey, on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
It's finally official. The reported trade between the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings has been approved by the league and confirmed by the Sixers.
The Sixers traded two of their second round picks this year, Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic, who were likely never going to play in the NBA for the foreseeable future. In return, the Sixers got the following players and draft picks from the Kings:
- Nik Stauskas, the 21 year old shooting guard that was the number eight pick in the draft last year;
- The Kings 2018 top-10 protected first round pick;
- Rights to swap first round picks with the Kings in 2016 and 2017;
- Carl Landry, who has averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds on 53% shooting in his eight-year career; and
- Jason Thompson, who has averaged 9 points and 7 boards on 50% shooting in his seven year career.
In essence, the Sixers took on the contracts of Landry and Thompson, who were owed approximately $13 million combined, so that the Kings could use that cap space to sign free agents Rajon Rondo and Marco Belinelli.
In return, the Sixers got an absolute heist. They reportedly wanted Nik Stauskas last season with the number 10 overall pick, but he was gone by the time the Sixers picked. While Stauskas struggled in his first year — averaging only 4.4 points on 36% shooting and 32% from three — his playing time was wildly inconsistent. Moreover, Stauskas flashed his upside when he shot 42% from behind the arc after the All Star break, which would have been good for 10th in the league.
Even if Stauskas does not pan out, he comes at no cost to the Sixers, so this is a quit-essential low risk, high reward trade. If Stauskas hits, the Sixers fill the gaping void at shooting guard. If Staukas does not, he only cost the Sixers a couple of second round picks that likely never would have played in the NBA to begin with.
Amazingly, however, Stauskas might not even be the most valuable asset that was acquired by the Sixers in this trade. The 2018 top-10 protected pick from the Kings could be a valuable asset. The Kings have not won more than 30 games since 2008, so there is at least a reasonable chance that the Kings are not contending for the playoffs in 2018.
And do not overlook the right to swap draft picks with the Kings in the next two drafts. While the Kings have superstar DeMarcus Cousins, the team is a mess. Their General Manager, Vlade Divac, recently stated that the relationship between Cousins and new head coach George Karl is "not pretty." Their owner reportedly thought about firing George Karl leading up to the draft in June, after hiring him in February. The Kings also swung and miss on several free agent targets this offseason, including Wes Matthews, who took considerably less money to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. Add all of this up, and the Kings could become a dumpster fire this year, which will only benefit the Sixers because they have the right swap picks with the Kings after the draft lottery in each of the next two seasons.
If things break right for the Sixers, this could go down as one of the most lop sided trades in NBA history, which was all obtained because Hinkie had cap space available and pounced on a team desperate to obtain a quick fix.
Here is the Twitter reaction from the newly acquired Sixers:
Lol people forgot I was the biggest Allen Iverson fan in the world! https://t.co/jh1ngOMKp4
— Nik Stauskas (@NStauskas11) July 2, 2015
Beyond excited to be going back to Philly. Grew up a Sixers fan. Dream come true.
— Jason Thompson (@jtthekid) July 2, 2015
Philadelphia Here I Come…#Sixers
— Carl Landry (@CarlLandry) July 2, 2015
