Getty Joel Embiid #21 (L), James Harden #1, Philadelphia 76ers
On January 14, Marc Stein revealed through his Substack that the Philadelphia 76ers were looking to trade either Furkan Korkmaz or Jaden Springer by the NBA Trade Deadline in the hopes of saving some money.
“There is a rising expectation that Philadelphia will look to move either Jaden Springer or Furkan Korkmaz before the Feb. 9 trade deadline in hopes of shedding luxury-tax dollars,” Stein said.
In light of the Sixers’ aim to make trades that will save them on luxury tax, ESPN’s Bobby Marks proposed a trade that the Sixers could do in case any trade partners are not interested in taking on Korkmaz’s contract for another year.
“If the second year of the Korkmaz contract is not appealing to teams, Jaden Springer and cash considerations could be traded to San Antonio for a future protected second-round pick,” Marks proposed.
While Springer’s contract is technically longer than Korkmaz’s, Springer has a team option for next season, meaning that his team could decide not to pick up the option, thus getting him off their payroll.
The Spurs currently have a full roster, so they would have to release or trade one of their players at the very least to make room for Springer. Should they agree to a deal with the Sixers, they could do what they did when they acquired Noah Vonleh from the Boston Celtics – waive Gorgui Dieng to make room for Vonleh, then waive Vonleh, then re-sign Dieng.
The San Antonio Spurs are bringing back center Gorgui Dieng on a 10-day contract, source tells ESPN. Dieng was waived to make room for a trade with the Celtics on Thursday. He’s played 13 games for the Spurs this season.
Proposed Trade Reunites Sixers With Boban Marjanovic
Trading Springer to the Spurs was not the only hypothetical deal that Marks proposed. He also proposed that the Sixers trade Korkmaz to the Houston Rockets for Boban Marjanovic to accomplish the same goal.
“Furkan Korkmaz, 2029 second and cash considerations to Houston for Boban Marjanovic. The trade would put the 76ers below the luxury tax threshold,” Marks proposed.
Korkmaz is slated to make $5 million this season and will make $5.37 million next season, compared to Marjanovic, who is not only on an expiring contract this season, but makes $3.5 million.
Marjanovic played for the Sixers briefly during the 2018-19 season when he was included in the trade that netted Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers but left for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. He’s barely played for the Rockets this season, having appeared in 15 games where he’s averaged 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 68.2 percent from the field.
Why the Sixers are Looking to Cut Costs
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports detailed why the Sixers are looking to save money by trading some of their expendable players. He also revealed another player who could potentially be traded besides Korkmaz and Springer.
“There is also a financial aspect that may underscore the Sixers’ trade deadline efforts if the right upgrades don’t materialize,” Fischer said. “This season currently marks Philadelphia’s third straight year as a taxpayer, which would subject the Sixers to pay repeater tax rates on every dollar over the 2023-24 tax threshold. The Sixers are hovering just above this year’s tax line at present, which could put players like Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, and Jaden Springer in the trade conversation.”
Thybulle has been featured in the Sixers’ rotation more than Korkmaz and Springer, having played in 41 games compared to Korkmaz playing 24 and Springer playing seven. However, he averages only 12.1 minutes a game due to the Sixers’ wing additions of De’Anthony Melton and P.J. Tucker.