September 22, 2015
When Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news on Monday that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Bennett were getting close to a buyout, everyone who follows the Sixers perked up. Think of the Bat-Signal, except with the outline of Sam Hinkie’s face.
🚨🚨🚨 Hinkie 🚨🚨🚨 https://t.co/dO6hzgSYv7
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) September 21, 2015
I'm laying 2-1 odds that my Sixers sign Anthony Bennett.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) September 22, 2015
Allow me to reintroduce myself my name is H-I-N-K-I-E https://t.co/S4aQURyIQK
— Michael Levin (@Michael_Levin) September 21, 2015
/Woj tweets about Bennett being bought out /somewhere, without seeing his phone, Sam Hinkie feels compelled to start drawing up a contract.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 21, 2015
If I'm the Sixers, I claim Bennett. Don't think twice about it.
— Eric Koreen (@ekoreen) September 21, 2015
This is the Sixers general manager’s M.O., after all: Buy low on talented young players who are down on their luck, give them an opportunity in a relatively pressure-free environment, and see what happens. If someone like Bennett can’t turn his career in Philly around, no sweat. If he can carve out a niche, the Sixers received something for nothing.
Now that the buyout is official, the Sixers’ interest is also official. That is what Woj and Shams Charania say, anyway. Bennett will be placed on waivers for the next 48 hours, and the Sixers are only one of four teams (Cleveland, Utah, and Portland are the others) that can absorb the $5.8 million Bennett is owed this upcoming season:
Bennett was stuck behind several frontcourt players in Minnesota and wanted the chance to pursue his career elsewhere. His representatives are hopeful that no team claims him on waivers and that he will have the opportunity to pick his next destination as a free agent. Philadelphia and Portland plan to look carefully at the possibility of claiming Bennett, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
After finishing with a worse record than any of the other teams last season, the Sixers would have the first opportunity to claim Bennett. If they want him, he is all theirs. The roster currently stands at the maximum of 20 players, so they would have to make a move to clear a spot for the 22-year-old Canadian forward.
Stay tuned on this one.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
