Sixers Could be Forced to Trade Fan-Favorite in ‘Straight-Up Money Move’

As the saying goes, only two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. But the Philadelphia 76ers might be able to avoid the latter with a few shrew roster maneuvers.

As it stands, the Sixers are $1.1 million over the luxury-tax threshold, or as the accountants down in Camden would say, “just a hair.” On top of that, Philadelphia has just $5.5 million in “free” cap space to play around with until it hits the hard cap, triggered over the summer when the Sixers signed Danuel House, Jr. to the bi-annual exception.

But the Sixers could easily solve two problems with one: by moving off of one of its cheaper contracts, Philadelphia could ostensibly get below the luxury tax threshold and open up a little more room for another deal (though, to be fair, those latter deals might force the team right back into the luxury tax.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report threw out two names who might find themselves on the chopping block should Philly move in that direction: Shake Milton and Jaden Springer.

“Not every trade is about basketball. Some are straight-up money moves. Last year, the NBA had five trades in January, of which three or four were exclusively about finances.

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“Expect a few this year as well. For instance, the Philadelphia 76ers are just over the luxury tax and could net about $16 million if they sent $3 million with Jaden Springer or Shake Milton in a salary dump.”

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Shake Milton Has Stepped Up For Sixers This Season

At the start of the season, Shake Milton mainly was an afterthought for the Sixers. The guard appeared in just one of Philly’s first five games. Though his minutes ticked up a touch after that, he was still chewing up garbage time minutes for the Sixers.

Then came the injuries. First to James Harden, then to Tyrese Maxey. With the entirety of Philadelphia’s starting backcourt out for at least a month, Doc Rivers tapped Shake Milton and De’Anthony Melton to fill the void.

And over a nine game stretch from November 18-December 2, Milton proved his coach’s faith was put in the right place. Milton logged 20.6 points and 6.0 assists per game, along with a 54.3 percent from the floor. The climax came in a Sixers victory over the Orlando Magic on November 25 in which Milton notched 24 points and 10 assists, his first career double-double.

After the game, Rivers reveled in the progress Milton had made from one-dimensional scorer to a more complete basketball professional.

“He was great. Good decision-making, solid, best I’ve seen him pass. Ever. He’s always been a scorer, but right now, Shake’s doing more. He made two defensive plays, got his hands in, and got a steal, a tie-up.”

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Would the Sixers Really Trade Melton or Springer?

As Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice pointed out in a recent mailbag, pinching pennies has never been a top priority for the Sixers post-Process.

“It has never been stressed as a priority for the organization, though I think you’d have to be naive to believe it’s not on their mind. Why risk being punished by the repeater tax in future seasons for a team that, at least at the moment, doesn’t look like a true threat to win it all?”

But at this point, trading away any player likely comes with serious drawbacks.

“The problem for tax-ducking purposes is that Philadelphia is out of easy options to accomplish that goal. Every cap-shedding move now comes with an on-court cost, as everybody left on the roster has a guaranteed contract for this year.”

Milton has developed into a meaningful NBA contributor off the bench for Philadelphia. And Rivers has made clear that Milton has played his way to more NBA minutes, even with the return of Harden and Maxey to the lineup.

And to move Springer would essentially mean quitting on a recent first-round pick that has still flashed strong defensive upside. It would be especially nasty to see him depart, only to resurface on a team incubating young talent, like the Oklahoma City managed with training camp casualty Isaiah Joe.

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