Who might Brett Brown consider trading?

By Michael Bronson | Jun 11, 2018

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 02: Head coach Brett Brown of the Philadelphia 76ers greets Robert Covington #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers and the rest of the team during a timeout during the third quarter at the Wells Fargo Center on February 2, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Miami Heat 103-97. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

With Brett Brown taking over as the Philadelphia 76ers’ interim GM, which players might end up on the trading block this summer?

I’ve always hated the idea of having one person be coach and general manager. Maybe it’s recency bias from the disasters that were Chip Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles and Doug Collins with the Philadelphia 76ers, but I truly believe the man coaching the players shouldn’t be the same one picking them.

But with Bryan Colangelo gone, Brown is clearly the Sixers’ best option until they find a new general manager. Now that Brown has the ability to trade and not re-sign players he doesn’t like coaching or doesn’t believe have a lot of potential, Jerryd Bayless, Richaun Holmes, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Furkan Korkmaz are players that are most likely to be traded.

Bayless was a terrible signing by Bryan Colangelo, is set to make $8.6 million in the 2018-19 season, and is on the final year of his contract. He averaged 7.9 points, 1.4 assists, and 2.1 rebounds while playing in 39 regular season games and two minutes in one playoff game.

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Unlike the 2017-18 season, injury wasn’t the reason Bayless received so little playing time. While the Sixers are hoping to sign a superstar free agent in LeBron James or Paul George, getting rid of Bayless’ contract would help free up money to build a great team around them. With this in mind, Brown has to seriously consider trading the 26th pick with Bayless to a rebuilding team for a future second-round pick.

I, like many Sixers fans, like Holmes. Whether it’s knocking down a three-pointer or blocking a shot into the stands, his intensity and effort has made him a favorite to some fans, but Brown doesn’t appear to be one of them.

Holmes averaged 15.5 minutes per game during the 48 regular season games he played in. While Holmes did miss games due to injury, most of the time Brown decided to play Amir Johnson instead. The 2018-19 season is the last season on Holmes’ contract and he will make $1.6 million, assuming the Sixers pick up his option.

Brown should consider trading him to a rebuilding team for a second-round draft pick to save a little money and give Holmes a chance to become the player many fans believe he has the potential to be on another team.

Luwawu-Cabarrot and Korkmaz both have team options on their contract after the 2018-19 season, and based on their playing time, Brown should be open to trading them as soon as possible.

Luwawu-Cabarrot played in 52 games and averaged 15.5 minutes per game when he played, but Brown decided against playing him during the Sixers’ final 17 games.

Korkmaz only played in 14 games and averaged 5.7 minutes per game. Ben Simmons was the near consensus top player in the 2016, so Bryan Colangelo made an easy decision selecting him, but both Luwawu-Cabarrot and Korkmaz reflect Bryan’s ability to scout talent, and with him now gone, there is no one forcing Brown to keep them on the team.

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Brown doesn’t seem to want play the role of general manager longer-term, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t take advantage of it short-term.