Should Sixers Go After Former Top-10 Pick in the NBA Buyout Market?

Now that the trade deadline is over, teams and players are starting to make business decisions.

Playoff and title hopefuls have already begun scouring the buyout market for the best available talent. Meanwhile, players on rebuilding teams are starting to secure their release if the two sides don't envision a future together.

Case in point, the San Antonio Spurs agreed to waive Jeremy Sochan on Wednesday, as ESPN's Shams Charania first reported.

The Spurs originally selected Sochan with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 draft. He appeared in 212 games for them over the past four seasons, including 149 starts.

All 149 of those starts came within his first three seasons, during which time he averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game. This year, he's down to only 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.

The Sixers will have two open roster spots once Charles Bassey and Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s 10-day contracts expire. Should they pursue Sochan to fill one of them?

What Sochan could bring to the table

With Paul George suspended until late March, the Sixers need more forward depth. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Justin Edwards are their only two wings at the moment, while Dominick Barlow and Trendon Watford are their two nominal power forwards. (Jabari Walker has hit his 50-game limit as a two-way player, so he can't play again for the Sixers unless they convert him from a two-way deal to a standard contract.)

At 6'8" and 230 pounds, Sochan could give the Sixers another warm body to throw into their forward rotation. Although he's been brutally ineffective this season, he was a plus defender and an above-average rebounder over the past few years.

The Spurs initially tried a Point Sochan experiment, which didn't pan out as hoped. However, he is an above-average passer for someone at his position, so he could take after Watford as a connective tissue on the Sixers.

The big concern with Sochan is three-point shooting. He's only a 28.7 percent career shooter from deep and has attempted only 487 three-pointers across his four NBA seasons.

Both Barlow and Watford are also mediocre three-point shooters, so Sochan could be duplicative in that regard. The Sixers might prefer a better floor-spacer with one of their two open roster spots.

However, the recent Dalen Terry signing—and the MarJon Beauchamp signing before that—suggest that the Sixers are looking to gamble on recent first-round picks as "second-draft" candidates. Getting Sochan in the building and giving him a two-month test drive before he becomes a free agent this offseason could give the Sixers a leg up over other teams if he pops in their system.

If nothing else, Nick Nurse presumably would approve of him since he's 6'8".

When could the Sixers sign Sochan?

The Sixers are less than $1.6 million below the luxury-tax line after signing Barlow to his new two-year contract. If they signed someone to a prorated veteran-minimum contract today, it would cost them roughly $792,000.

The Sixers will presumably wait to sign anyone until Bassey and Baldwin's 10-day contracts expire over the All-Star break. However, they'll need to fill both of those roster spots before their Feb. 19 game against the Atlanta Hawks or else Beauchamp and Terry won't be able to play. (The Sixers have already hit their limit of Under-Fifteen Games.)

If the Sixers wait until Feb. 19 to sign Sochan or anyone else, a prorated vet-min deal will cost roughly $700,000. Signing two players to rest-of-season contracts on that date would leave them less than $180,000 below the tax line.

So, regardless of whether it's Sochan or anyone else, don't be surprised if the Sixers wait until next week to make another roster move.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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