NBA Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers Looking to Cut Dead Weight in Marreese Speights

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Philadelphia made great strides with Doug Collins as head coach last season. They entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed and looked solid at times against the Miami Heat.

This offseason has been dedicated to whether or not the team should ship off superstar Andre Iguodala, but they would be better off cutting dead weight than trading their wingman.

They’ve been rumored to be in the mix for a quality big man, which would allow them to keep Elton Brand at his natural power forward position. They drafted USC center Nikola Vucevic, who will greatly help the team in the post. He is a very good rebounder with solid touch and can defend five or four spots.

Marreese Speights will turn just 24-years-old, but he has never shown the potential to be a quality starting big man in the league. With youth still on his side, the 76ers would be best served to ship him off for a charitable donation by another team.

Ira Winderman of SunSentinel.com stated, “the 76ers apparently are looking to move the former University of Florida big man. But, as with all these trade suggestions, consider that the Heat have practically no trade assets.”

It would be odd for the 76ers to trade him to the Heat since Miami desperately needs a center. The 76ers would have an advantage, again, in the post if they met in another postseason series. Yet there are plenty of other teams desperately in need of affordable and young big men.

Speights averages just 14.7 minutes, 7.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, .5 assists, .5 blocks and .3 steals in three years in the Association.

The 6’10” 255-pound center clearly needs to find playing time and he will only receive significant minutes if injuries force Philly’s hand. He is expected to make just over $3 million on a one-year deal next season, which is just perfect for most teams to take a chance on. Count Miami and New York out, since it would not be beneficial for Philly to trade him to center-needy teams.

One team who has been linked to the 76ers all offseason could use help down low—the Golden State Warriors. Talks fell through for an Iguodala-Monta Ellis trade, but it would be beneficial for the Warriors to resume talks for Speights once the lockout is lifted.

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