November 01, 2016
There aren't too many NBA trades one week into the season, but Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a bomb (or maybe something less than that perhaps, a grenade?) on Tuesday afternoon. According to Woj, the Sixers have traded Jerami Grant to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional future pick:
Philadelphia has traded Jerami Grant to OKC, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) November 1, 2016
OKC sends Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional future pick to the Sixers, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) November 1, 2016
Thunder have been pursuing a deal for Jerami Grant for several months, and finally struck a deal for him. Teams are finishing trade call now
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) November 1, 2016
According to the Inquirer's Keith Pompey, the pick will either be a late first or two future seconds:
The #Sixers will get a 2020 protected pick (1-20). If not conveyed, it would convert to two (2) second-round picks (2022, 2023)
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) November 1, 2016
“This is a unique deal that allows us to address both short term needs and longer term goals at the same time," Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. "Ersan will bring us much needed perimeter shooting, floor spacing and roster balance, while the acquisition of a future pick or picks should continue to drive our ability to generate future roster building options.”
“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Jerami for his valuable contributions to our team and for always being the respectable and classy professional that he is.”
Grant's future in Philadelphia, next to a couple of young power forwards in Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, was fairly unclear. A second-round pick in 2014, the Syracuse product got the opportunity to play over 3,100 combined minutes in his first two seasons for the rebuilding Sixers and impressed with his athleticism around the rim on both ends of the floor. His inability to score efficiently on offense, specifically from the perimeter, remains a major question moving forward.
The 29-year-old Ilyasova might only be here for one season (or less), as he's an $8.4 million expiring contract. For a Sixers team that is struggling mightily offensively, he does provide the ability to stretch the floor around the young big men (Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor) as a 37 percent career three-point shooter.
And according to ESPN's Marc Stein, that is exactly why Colangelo made the move:
ESPN sources say that the Sixers made the trade to KEEP Ersan Ilyasova. They've wanted a stretch four to help Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) November 1, 2016
Much more to come later from Wells Fargo Center as the Sixers take on the Orlando Magic tonight.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
