With the NBA in recovery after the most dramatic trade deadline in league history, the All-Star break could not have come at a better time. With some days off on our hands, lets check in on some old friends with ties to the Sixers who have recently been moved to new teams.
Jimmy Butler joins Golden State Warriors
The Miami Heat were in the third quarter of a game in Philadelphia that they eventually won when news broke that the team was finally putting an end to the Butler saga, dealing the one-time Sixer to the Golden State Warriors for a package built around Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick. In his time with Miami, Butler led the Heat to a pair of NBA Finals berths and an additional Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Butler has struggled to stay available in recent seasons, though, and entering his age-35 season the Heat clearly decided they were unwilling to commit long-term dollars to him. Butler entered the season with tensions clearly high, and things boiled over quickly, resulting in a trade demand, multiple team-mandated suspensions and a whole lot of headaches.
Now, Butler is rejuvenated in Golden State, where in only four games he has revitalized a sputtering Warriors offense which had been far too reliant on Stephen Curry. In four games with Golden State, Butler has averaged 21.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Jimmy with the FINISH 💥
📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/ZUkzXYrDO6— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 14, 2025
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KJ Martin rerouted to Utah Jazz
It cost the Sixers two second-round picks to salary dump Martin into the Detroit Pistons' cap space as part of a successful effort to get under the luxury tax. Shortly thereafter, Detroit rerouted both Martin and fellow recent trade acquisition Lindy Waters III, sending both alongside a second-round pick to Utah Jazz for Dennis Schröder, acquired by Utah as part of the Butler trade, which turned into a massive, complicated five-team deal by the time it had reached completion.
Martin had not played since Dec. 23, when he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot. The injury interrupted what was becoming a breakout season for the 24-year-old who was signed to a two-year deal with only one season of guaranteed salary. The Sixers' horrid season caused them to pivot to ducking the tax threshold, and Martin was the casualty. He has yet to play for the Jazz, listed as out with "return to competition reconditioning" in their games leading up to the All-Star break.
Detroit, it turns out, did not value Martin on the floor enough to keep him. While Martin is a player teams should be willing to invest in, there is no doubt this was strong business by the Pistons, who in the aggregate parlayed their cap space to land a valuable veteran ball-handler in Schröder and net one future second-rounder.
Ben Simmons finds his third NBA team
Simmons made his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night after reaching a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets. On the second leg of a back-to-back, the Clippers found themselves trailing by 20 in Utah. Simmons and the player the Sixers traded him to Brooklyn for years ago, James Harden, helped lead an impressive comeback culminating in an overtime victory.
Playing a hybrid sort of point center role in his team debut, Simmons showed signs of real life, impacting the game on both ends of the floor and closing over stellar starting center Ivica Zubac.
📊 12 PTS | 7 REB | 6 AST | 3 STLS
Ben Simmons with the strong Clippers debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/saBFoI9M5g— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 14, 2025
The Clippers' entire crunch time lineup had some tie to Sixers lore, whether the connections are obvious or more subtle. Harden and Simmons bookended the unit. In between them: former trade target Kris Dunn, former-trade-target-turned-All-Star-contender Norman Powell and old friend Nic Batum.
MORE: Jared Butler, Quentin Grimes talk post-trade deadline transitions with Sixers
Jaden Springer searching for a new home
Because of his $4 million salary and the Boston Celtics' exorbitant luxury tax penalties, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Springer to remain with the team past the trade despite not having a secured rotation spot. The former Sixers first-round pick, traded to Boston for a second-rounder which turned into Adem Bona at last year's deadline, made a spirited push in his final weeks as a Celtic, playing terrific defense and giving the defending champions a spark off the bench.
Ultimately, the Celtics had the ability to save something in the neighborhood of $15 million by salary dumping Springer ahead of his restricted free agency, and that was too much money to pass up. They traded Springer and a second-round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a heavily-protected second-rounder. At first glance, Houston seemed like an exciting landing spot for Springer, as he would fit in perfectly on a team which focuses on acquiring as much athleticism and defensive ability as possible.
However, the Rockets had a chance to add another future second-round pick to their collection by taking on another small salary dump, acquiring Cody Zeller from the Atlanta Hawks. But Houston needed to clear a roster spot to take Zeller, so once again Springer found himself the victim of a numbers game. Springer was waived by the Rockets and is now a free agent.
Springer is still only 22 years old and is clearly a difference-maker on the defensive end of the floor. There is a case to be made in favor of contending teams picking him up to add a defensive specialist to their mix, but perhaps it is easier to argue that rebuilding teams with open roster spots should consider taking a chance on Springer. What would teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Jazz have to lose?
Georges Niang exits a great situation
The 31-year-old stretch four Niang was in the perfect spot a few weeks ago. He played every night for the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, but was hardly ever relied on for too many minutes or shots. He had the opportunity to serve as one of the leaders of a locker room which is known for its incredible chemistry.
But the NBA is a business, and the Cavaliers had to make a difficult decision to trade Niang and Caris LeVert, another popular locker room presence, to land Sixth Man of the Year Award candidate De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks. Suddenly, Niang has gone from a perfect role on a championship contender with an ideal team chemistry setup to a veteran presence on a sputtering Hawks team. Niang will still make $8.5 million this year and $8.2 million next year — and he gets to reunite with Quin Snyder, Atlanta's head coach who coached the Jazz during when Niang began his career in Utah — but it is a brutal break given the perfect nature of the spot he was in with the Cavaliers.
For what it's worth, Niang has given the Hawks strong minutes in his first three games with the team. He has scored 45 points and is shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc. If Niang can continue playing well over the final two months of the regular season, he could be considered a slightly positive asset heading into next year on a medium-sized, expiring contract.
MORE: How can Sixers keep Guerschon Yabusele + other key role players this summer?
P.J. Tucker likely to return to market
Tucker was traded from the Clippers to the Jazz in a salary dump trade a week before the deadline. The Jazz traded him to Miami, and Miami traded him to the Toronto Raptors, who are expected to buy him out shortly.
As he gets set to turn 40 years old in May, Tucker has not appeared in an NBA game this season despite making over $11.5 million in the final season of a three-year, $33 million contract initially given to the tough-minded veteran by the Sixers. The team's primary motivation of the Harden trade last year was to attain significant draft picks and set up a chance to become major cap space players the following summer.
They accomplished the second goal thanks in large part to also swapping Tucker for the expiring contract of Batum in that deal, and that swap also made the team immeasurably better on the court. Tucker's best days are long behind him; he is a complete non-threat offensively who is no longer a major difference-maker on the defensive end of the floor. Batum was the perfect connecting role player for the Sixers. Of course, he is now back with in Los Angeles.
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