The Denver Nuggets traded Wilson Chandler and what’s likely to be a second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sports Illustrated’s Jake Fischer is reporting that the Sixers won’t send a player back in return, instead merely shipping cash considerations.
Here’s why the Sixers’ trade for Wilson Chandler cost almost nothing
It’s always about money.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
This deal makes a lot of sense for both sides, even if it looks like Denver’s getting ripped off by getting close to nothing in return. As always, this is a move made to save money.
Why did the Nuggets trade Wilson Chandler for nobody?
The Nuggets are way over the salary cap to the point where they’ve reached what’s called the luxury tax. The luxury tax is paid by high-spending teams whose payroll goes over a pre-determined number each year. The higher a team is over the luxury tax, the more money they have to pay.
With Denver agreeing to two big contracts this week: Nikola Jokic’s five-year $148 million deal and Will Barton’s four-year $54 million one, they were well over the luxury tax, which gets extremely costly.
The Nuggets needed to shed Chandler’s $12 million contract without bringing on another to save as much as $50 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Few teams in the league had the cap space to pull off such a move, which is probably why the team had to throw in an extra pick to seal the deal with Philly.
Why did the Sixers trade for Wilson Chandler?
Philly’s had a disappointing summer, striking out on LeBron James and Paul George. Nobody great is left on the market, and Chandler is the next-best choice.
Adding Chandler also brings another wing presence at a time when they’re becoming one of the most important positions in basketball. Chandler can shoot from deep, and maybe more importantly has the size to switch on to defend multiple positions.
Trading for Chandler comes with little risk, because his contract is set to expire after next season. And, Philly gets a pick asset it may want to use in a subsequent trade. Maybe for Kawhi Leonard?
It was a cheap price for the Nuggets to pay losing a low-value asset to save a large sum of money, and a cheap investment for the Sixers to pay because they had the salary space anyway. Overall, this trade makes sense for both sides.
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