The Sixers have made another move to bolster their bench ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline, acquiring guard/forward James Ennis from Houston for the right to swap second-round picks in 2021.
The Sixers have made another move to bolster their bench ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, acquiring guard/forward James Ennis from Houston for the right to swap second-round picks in 2021.
Made expendable by the Rockets adding guard Iman Shumpert on Wednesday, Ennis is a player who brings some desperately-needed veteran experience on the wing for the reserve unit. The 28-year-old out of Cal State, Long Beach began the season as a starter for Houston before injuries and inconsistency took their toll and Ennis moved to the bench.
The swingman is expected to resume his role as a backup guard/small forward in Philadelphia while having the capability of making a spot start when needed.
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Ennis is averaging 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists this season for Houston. He’s shooting well from the field (50 percent) and has made 39.5 percent of his three-point attempts since returning to the floor in January after injuring his hamstring. If Ennis likes his stay in Philadelphia, he has a player option for 2019-2020 worth $ 1,845,301.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Serena Winters reports the Sixers will waive guard Malachi Richardson to make room for Ennis on the active roster. General manager Elton Brand had acquired Richardson, a New Jersey native, from the Raptors on Wednesday.
Below is the press release from Sixers PR announcing the deal for Richardson:
PHILADELPHIA – FEB. 6, 2019 – Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Elton Brand announced today that the team has acquired Malachi Richardson, Toronto’s 2022 second-round pick and the draft rights to Emir Preldzic in a trade with the Raptors.
Richardson has appeared in 22 NBA games for Toronto this season, in addition to 12 contests with the team’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905. Across his 12 G League games, Richardson has averaged 20.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 35.2 minutes.
In the midst of his third NBA season, Richardson was originally selected by Charlotte with the No. 22 overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft before being dealt to Sacramento. He’s appeared in 70 career NBA games (four starts) with Toronto and Sacramento, averaging 2.8 points per contest. In 41 G League games (36 starts) over three seasons with Raptors 905 and Reno, Richardson has tallied 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 30.1 minutes per game. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, he played one collegiate season at Syracuse before entering the draft, helping lead the Orange to the 2016 Final Four after drawing a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Preldzic was originally selected by Phoenix with the No. 57 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He has played professionally since 2003 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Turkey.
Joe Trinacria covers the Sixers for NJ.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jtrinacria.