Getty Atlanta Hawks guard Jeremy Lin
As the NBA trade deadline draws near, the rumors and interest surrounding certain players continue to ramp up. One name who’s drawn a decent amount of attention to this point is Atlanta Hawks guard Jeremy Lin. While Lin has been stuck behind rookie Trae Young this season, he’s still produced solid numbers.
Not surprisingly, this has led to some interest from a few different teams in a potential trade for the Hawks guard. As Sean Deveney of Sporting News revealed, the Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans are among the teams interested.
But sources tell SN that they have expressed interest in another player expected to be made available for a first-round pick: Atlanta point guard Jeremy Lin.
When the Hawks traded for Lin last summer, the hope was that he could be a veteran presence for the first part of the season for young point guard Trae Young, then could be swapped for a rebuilding asset to help the woebegone Hawks’ future. A first-rounder would do the trick.
The Pelicans and Sixers have also inquired about Lin (11.0 points in 19.3 minutes per game this season), and the Hawks may be able to create some bidding for his services ahead of the deadline.
As Deveney points out in the story, both the Blazers and Sixers are willing to part ways with its first-round pick this season in order to bolster their roster. He did point out that Philly has not included the 2021 pick they received from the Miami Heat during the 2018 NBA Draft in any discussions.
Sixers Current Roster & Outlook
Since Philadelphia struck a deal to bring Jimmy Butler to town by sending Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless out of town, they’ve battled the depth issue consistently. Aside from the starting core which features Butler, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, and Wilson Chandler, the bench has a handful of question marks.
T.J. McConnell and Furkan Korkmaz have been the first two guards off the bench with the latter stepping in to start if injuries hit the lineup. Both Mike Muscala and Amir Johnson have seen decent minutes but haven’t produced much as of late while young forward Jonah Bolden has come on as of late a bit.
The Injury Woes
The Sixers have been unable to avoid the injury bug, even beyond the above names. The Markelle Fultz situation has been tough across the board and there’s no exact timeline for when he’ll return from his shoulder issue. Rookie first-round pick Zhaire Smith has missed the entire season to this point but should be back soon and Justin Patton, who also came in the Butler deal is rehabbing a foot injury.
Philly hasn’t managed to keep much healthy and productive depth available. Although a few players such as McConnell and Korkmaz have been productive as fill-in options, the Sixers seem likely to swing a deal. The addition of Lin makes a decent amount of sense, especially due to the fact that he’s capable of playing shooting guard as well as running the point.
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