Ersan Ilyasova is heading to the 76ers for Jerami Grant.
On the day of the NFL’s trade deadline, the only deal of the day was between the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder, which saw Jeremi Grant traded to the Thunder.
In exchange, the 76ers receiver Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional first round pick.
The pick is believed to be for the 2020 NBA Draft and is protected between picks 1-20, which means it only transfers to Philadelphia if it lands 21-30. Otherwise, it becomes a pair of second round picks.
It’s been no secret that the Thunder has been interested in Grant for quite some time. The 6-8 forward has the highest block rate in the NBA for non-centers and could help provide the team with some of the shot-blocking it lost when they traded Serge Ibaka to the Magic.
Grant is averaging 8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 20.5 minutes a night. He makes only $980K this season and just over $1M next season.
This deal sheds quite a bit of salary from the Thunder payroll, pushing them to $7.1 million under the salary cap.
This could be the first in a series of moves for the 76ers to help alleviate their frontcourt logjam, which is only going to get worse when prized-rookie Ben Simmons returns to the team.
Heading to Philadelphia is Ilyasova, a sharp-shooting forward who never seemed to fit in with the Thunder. Ilyasova gives the team another option to stretch the court and open up space for Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor inside.
A seven-year veteran, Ilyasova is averaging just 5.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 20.7 minutes a night. While he’s struggled to find his rhythm this season, shooting just 25% from the outside, he’s a career 37% shooter from 3-point range.
Philadelphia GM Bryan Colangelo talked about the deal:
“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.”
This deal also allows Philadelphia to absorb Ilyasova’s $8.4 million expiring contract, which gets the team closer to the NBA’s 2016-2017 salary cap floor of $84.7 million dollars.
