In desperate need of reserves without reigning MVP Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly reaching deep. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry will join the club after negotiating a buyout from his contract with the Charlotte Hornets.
At 37, Lowry is far from the player he once was. A multi-time All-Star and NBA champion, Lowry can still add positives to a 76ers team that could use depth and a veteran voice. However, he’s not a season-saver for Philly.
It will be a homecoming for Lowry, a Philadelphia native, but the move seems a few years too late if you’re the Sixers.
Lowry’s 18th NBA season has arguably been his worst. In 37 games for the Miami Heat, he averaged 8.2 points and 4.0 assists per game, his lowest output since the 2009-10 campaign.
Upon receiving news that Embiid would miss significant time after undergoing a lateral meniscus “procedure,” the Sixers weren’t as aggressive at the trade deadline as many expected. While they made several moves, they didn’t pull off the kind of wheeling and dealing that would have anyone planning a parade on Broad Street.
They added sharpshooter Buddy Hield, but most of the transactions appeared to have been made with the future in mind, not the present. Ultimately, Philly traded five players, Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, Patrick Beverley, Daniel House and Jaden Springer. They acquired in return only Hield, guard Cameron Payne, a boatload of second-round picks and cap space flexibility for the offseason.
There’s still hope Embiid can return this year, but what Sixers team he’ll come back to is up for debate.
While Philly snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, knocking off the lowly Washington Wizards 119-113, it’s only the team’s second win since losing the star (2-4) and it’s a trend that has them falling in the standings. At 31-21, the Sixers are fifth in the Eastern Conference, only two games ahead of the Indiana Pacers (30-24).
