COMMENTARY | At the halfway point of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers sit three-and-a-half games out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia's season has not gone according to expectations, largely due to the absence of Andrew Bynum.
Rebounding has been a sore spot for the 76ers this season, currently ranked 23rd in the league in rebounds per game. To their luck though, there are plenty of talented post players rumored to be on the trading block for the upcoming NBA trade deadline.
The issue, however, is that the 76ers don't have many assets to offer other teams, especially for the prime talent on the market.
In the blockbuster four-team trade in the summer that landed Philadelphia Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson the 76ers gave up quite a bit of talent.
Team leader and national team member Andre Iguodala was traded to Denver. Promising 22-year-old center Nikola Vucevic - - who is averaging a double-double this season - - and rookie Moe Harkless were sent to the Orlando Magic as was a protected first-round draft pick.
So what does Philadelphia have left to offer?
One would imagine Jrue Holiday, who just signed a four-year contract extension in November, is untouchable.
The team has a small amount of expiring contracts. Nick Young, Dorell Wright, Damien Wilkins and Royal Ivey have one-year deals and one would assume only Young, and maybe Wright, would have much value on the trade market, even considering the cap space they could free up at the end of the season. Young is averaging only 10.2 points per game and shooting a paltry .405 from the field while making $5.6 million this season.
Bynum will be a free agent after this season as well, but 76ers GM Tony DiLeo told Tom Moore of Calkins Newspapers in December that the team was not thinking of moving Bynum and would like to see how the team looks as a whole.
Bynum's making nearly $17 million this season and would open the team's possibilities in terms of what salaries the team could bring back, but there would also be plenty of backlash from the fans for trading for Bynum in the first place.
Lavoy Allen is in his second season and has seen his point per game, rebounds per game and blocks per game averages climb. He could be a developing piece, much like Orlando saw in Vucevic. Another real diamond in the rough could be rookie Arnett Moultrie, who was acquired for another future first-round draft pick. Are either enough in return for a trade partner, however?
The team also has a trade exception worth over $1.7 million from trading away Harkless.
Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner have played well this season and would be integral pieces to any contending Philadelphia 76ers team.
After that, the rest of the roster is really bleak in assets. Spencer Hawes is making $6.5 million this season and has two years left on his deal but hasn't started a game this season even when Allen and Kwame Brown have started at center.
Jason Richardson is 32-years-old, averaging a career-low 10.5 points per game, and is making about $5.8 million this season with three years left on his deal.
One would think those two would be difficult to move, especially for the talent the 76ers would want in return.
Without really sacrificing the few productive players on the roster and since the team has already dealt two future first-round draft picks, the 76ers have a bare cupboard of tradable pieces.
Unless someone really wants Spencer Hawes.
Phil Shore lives in New Jersey and is the creator and editor of Shore Thing Sports blog. He's been published in The Boston Globe, Philly.com, FoxSoccer.com, LaxMagazine.com and New England Lacrosse Journal.
