Wilson Chandler, Draft Pick Reportedly Traded to 76ers
The Denver Nuggets reached an agreement Tuesday to trade small forward Wilson Chandler to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Sixers will also receive draft considerations, while the Nuggets clear Chandler's $12.8 million contract in an effort to dodge the luxury tax.
Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated provided further details:
TNT's David Aldridge noted the current plan is for Chandler to remain with Philadelphia:
Meanwhile, Denver ends up saving $49.8 million by taking the forward's salary off its books and reducing its luxury-tax total from $51.3 million to $14.3 million, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The 31-year-old is coming off a down year with the Nuggets during which he averaged 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 74 appearances. His scoring dropped 5.7 points per game from the 2016-17 season.
The DePaul product struggled to handle an inconsistent role, especially in terms of his offensive touches, and spoke ominously about the situation in January.
"Just not feeling like myself, that's all," Chandler told reporters. "Maybe my rhythm's off. I don't know."
When asked how he could salvage the season, he added, "I have no idea, to be honest."
While he did play better in the second half, averaging 11.5 points after the All-Star break, it still wasn't a complete return to form for the veteran forward.
Chandler has been mentioned in rumors dating back to the 2017 trade deadline.
That's when Sam Amick of USA Today reported the Michigan native wanted to get dealt because of "inconsistency with his role." While he ended up staying in Denver for an additional season-and-a-half, the issue lingered and ultimately led to his departure.
Chandler will be under pressure following his trade to the Sixers. Not only will he need to establish himself with a new team, but he's also entering the final year of his contract after exercising his 2018-19 player option. He'll want to put together a strong bounce-back campaign in Philly before hitting the free-agent market next offseason.
Expect him to split time with Robert Covington at the 3 to open the regular season.
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