February 22, 2016
So, about that Joel Anthony trade that the Philadelphia 76ers completed just before the buzzer at the trade deadline… Yeah, it didn’t happen. On Monday, the Detroit Pistons announced that they voided the trade for medical reasons:
OFFICIAL: The #Pistons have rescinded a trade that acquired forward/center Donatas Motiejunas and guard Marcus Thornton from Houston.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 22, 2016
“Standard with all trades, medical clearance on all players involved is required for completion." - Pistons GM Jeff Bower.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 22, 2016
According to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania, the medical issues had nothing to do with Anthony or the Sixers. Instead, it was Houston’s Donatas Motiejunas' back issues:
After forward Donatas Motiejunas was unable to get physicians’ clearance for his troublesome back, the Detroit Pistons are in the process of voiding a three-team trade with Houston and Philadelphia, league sources told The Vertical.
The physicians and specialists examining Motiejunas’ back refused to clear him, pushing Pistons executives to kill the deal agreed upon at Thursday’s trade deadline, league sources said.
As a result, Anthony goes back to Detroit, the second-round pick stays with Houston, and the Chu Chu Maduabum era in Philadelphia gets a second chance. The Sixers inch back away from the salary cap floor, but the big news from Philadelphia’s perspective is that the Sixers got rid of JaKarr Sampson (to create a roster spot for Anthony) for no reason.
There was a report that the Sixers wanted to bring Sampson back after waiving Anthony, and Sam Hinkie even strongly hinted at that possibility on Friday.
“That wasn’t much fun,” Hinkie said of waiving Sampson. “JaKarr’s been a big part of our culture and may well continue to be. That’s a possibility, I think.”
Sampson cleared waivers, but he found another suitor and chose them instead of coming back to Philly. The 6’8” forward signed a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets earlier today:
"It's a great opportunity here... I'm just ready to get to work."#Nuggets #ItsANewDay pic.twitter.com/MOm00sHYmC
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 22, 2016
It would have been a surprise if Sampson (who is a 17.6 percent shooter from deep) made it past the end of this season on the roster, so losing out on him isn’t necessarily a major deal in the long run. For the rest of this season, though, the Sixers gave away a valuable member of the locker room and favorite of Brett Brown’s for nothing.
One thing is for sure: I will miss Sampson on the jumbotron between timeouts:
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
