The skidding Philadelphia 76ers made a move Wednesday to fortify their bench, landing forward Glenn Robinson III and guard Alec Burks in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, a league source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Philadelphia is sending Golden State a 2020 second-round pick via Dallas, a 2021 second-round pick via Denver and a 2022 second-round pick via Toronto, a league source said.
Robinson and Burks will give the Sixers some much-needed scoring off the bench.
Robinson, a sixth-year player out of Michigan, is averaging 12.9 points in 31.6 minutes this season, shooting 48.1% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. Burks, a ninth-year player out of Colorado, is averaging 16.1 points in 29 minutes, shooting 40.6% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.
Both players took advantage of extra minutes on a depleted Warriors team this season. Each was held out of Golden State’s lineup Wednesday against the Nets in New York, with the team opting to play it safe as it worked on potential deals.
“Tough night to go out and play,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the trade was announced. “Two of our leaders, elder statesmen, guys who are really beloved in the locker room. For the team to find out those two guys are most likely going to be traded is pretty tough. … Not a good way to prepare for a game when something like that happens.”
The Sixers are mired in a three-game skid that has dropped them to 31-20 this season and had star center Joel Embiid acknowledging to reporters that the team doesn’t have an offensive identity right now.
Philadelphia’s roster was at 15 before the trade, which means it will need to waive or move two players as part of the deal.
Golden State, meanwhile, cuts costs with the trade. Its tax bill drops from $9.3 million to $3.4 million, and the team is now $1.38 million above the tax threshold. Barring a trade to clear out additional salary, that number will increase because the Warriors have only 11 players under contract.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Bobby Marks contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
