The Case for Anthony Bennett

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Yesterday afternoon, Brian Windhorst went on the Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco podcast and dropped some bombshells surrounding the Kevin Love-Andrew Wiggins trade. Basically, the structure of a deal is in place for Wiggins to head to Minnesota and Love to join LeBron James in Cleveland; all that needs to happen is the 30-day period to pass following Wiggins signing his rookie contract. However, there was also some speculated Sixers involvement in a larger deal, one that would net Philadelphia a certain small forward from Canada who was the first overall pick. Unfortunately no, it wouldn’t be Andrew Wiggins, but rather Cleveland’s Anthony Bennett.

Windhorst also says that he thinks Thad to Wolves could happen, but sounded less definite. Could see Anthony Bennett in return. #sixers

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) August 4, 2014

First, Windhorst’s wording made the Sixers involvement seem much less certain to take place than the basic structure of a Love for Wiggins swap; that aspect of things appears to more or less be a done deal, whereas the Thad for Bennett portion remains a well-sourced rumor. Still, with Flip Saunders coveting Thad Young because he has delusions of the Timberwolves competing in the West this season even without Kevin Love, and the Sixers having the cap space to assist in any potential three-team deal, this trade would make a lot of sense. That being said, would Anthony Bennett be a worthwhile return for the Sixers?

To the casual fan, Bennett is already considered a bust; after unexpectedly being selected first overall by Cleveland, the former UNLV forward put up ghastly numbers in his rookie season. He averaged just 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 35.6% from the field, 24.5% from three, and 63.8% from the line, with barely any assists, steals, or blocks to speak of. However, a shoulder injury prevented Bennett from working out in the prior offseason and due to asthma-related issues, it was a grind for him to get back into shape following his recovery. He was considerably better in the 11 games he appeared in following the All-Star break, shooting 47.3% from the field in those contests.

With just one season under his belt, it’s still fair to attribute Bennett’s start to those early conditioning issues. Even if he was a huge reach as the first overall pick, Bennett was still a consensus top-10 pick heading into the 2013 draft, and is only 21 years old. He looked slimmed down in two summer league games out in Vegas, averaging 14 points on 45.8% shooting and 10.5 rebounds. Being summer league, there should not be took much stock placed in the numbers, but just the fact that he now looked to be in NBA shape is cause for optimism that Bennett can bounce back in his sophomore campaign.

I hate to see Thad Young go after he’s been a constant source of hustle on the court and the consummate professional off it during his time in Philadelphia. However, he understandably wants to play for a team with a better chance of winning in the short-term; it’s borderline criminal for a 7-year veteran in the prime of his career to waste his efforts on essentially a d-league squad more or less vying for the worst record in the league. If the Sixers were not to trade him this season, Thad would certainly opt out of the last year of his contract and the team would receive nothing in return while watching him go.

We saw the meager return Sam Hinkie received when he waited until the trade deadline last season with Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes. Thad is a better player than that dynamic duo but it’s still likely the Sixers wouldn’t get more than a late first-round pick. The ability to flip Young now and receive a player who was a consensus top-10 pick in last year’s draft would be a no-brainer move for the Sixers. If he could pull off the deal without taking back any egregious unwanted contracts and/or receive a decent draft pick as part of the haul, it would be one more notch on Hinkie’s proverbial belt.