Derek Bodner’s Blog

Let me start this off by saying that I liked Kyle Korver. He provided a valuable skillset that virtually all teams need, whether that team’s offense is based around a low post threat, dribble penetration, or a transition game. There isn’t one good team in the league that couldn’t use a Kyle Korver coming off their bench.

He got the most out of his abilities and always played hard. He also seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and a good teammate who enjoyed playing on this team, and for this city. While ultimately you look at a trade and base whether it was good or bad on how it affects the talent level of your club, it’s also impossible to take the human element out of it completely. It definitely felt odd watching Kyle playing for the Jazz, and you could see Kyle seemed a little shaken about it himself.

In a perfect world, Korver would have been a guy you would like to keep. Ideally Korver would be here when this team is back to competing, and at 26 years old, he has plenty of basketball left in him.

All that being said, this was a move that made sense. Kyle Korver was a nice role player, and somebody who could have been an asset in years to come. But you don’t let a role player get in the way of your rebuilding. Cap space is tantamount to rebuilding.

Sure, it would have been nice to have cleared cap space without moving Korver. Kyle Korver’s contract was not a mistake that had to be moved. He only had 2 years left, and less than the league average salary. But it was a contract that could be moved. That’s a very big distinction, and ultimately the reason he’s no longer a member of the team.

I would have preferred that Korver be packaged with another long term salary, such as Evans or Green, but finding a team willing to take back more salary may have been impossible.

Would the Sixers have preferred to move Reggie Evans to clear the cap space while keeping Korver? Probably. The problem is it takes two to tango, and that deal was likely never presented.

The pick received is not likely something you can count on, as it’s more than likely to be in the 20’s, and picks that late in the draft are very hit or miss. The success of the trade really comes down to whether or not the Sixers are able to make use of their cap room. At $10 million, their work certainly isn’t done.

Word has been coming out that Ed Stefanski is done shopping his players around, and that while he’s willing to talk, he’s not actively pursuing anything. That would be a very big mistake. Yes, it’s true the Sixers have more projected cap room than anyone in free agency next year. Getting more cap room than anyone else isn’t enough. The Sixers are competing against a free agents prior team more than anything.

If you look at potential free agents who have a player option, they’re not likely to exercise their option if nobody in free agency is going to be able to bid against their current team and drive up their value. Likewise, if they’re trying to pull restricted free agents away from their teams, the less money you have, the more likely it is their prior team will match an offer. The Sixers need to clear enough to offer free agents a max contract before they really become players in free agency. They’re not there yet, and failing to do so could limit their options in the summer.