The Sixers Are Running Low on Time With Jabari Walker

Deadlines tend to spur action in the NBA, and the Sixers are fast approaching another one.

This past Saturday, the Sixers reached their 90-game limit of active games from two-way players while they had only 14 players on standard contracts. Had they not signed Charles Bassey to a 10-day deal on Monday, Jabari Walker, Dominick Barlow and MarJon Beauchamp would not be allowed to be on the active list again until the Sixers had filled their 15th roster spot.

That isn't the only two-way limit that the Sixers need to worry about, though. Each two-way player can only be on a team's active list for 50 games before the team either needs to convert him to a standard contract or release him.

According to Spotrac's tracker, Walker has now been on the active list for 46 games. That means he can only be on the Sixers' active list for four more games before they face the stay-or-go decision with him.

Luckily, the Sixers have exactly four games remaining before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. They have a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. ET on the day of the deadline, but that gives them six hours between the deadline and the start of that game to officially convert Walker from a two-way deal to a standard contract.

Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein recently reported that "barring some unforeseen change," the Sixers do plan to convert both Walker and Barlow "at some point during the regular season." Here, we'll take a stab at when both might happen.

The Sixers' juggling act with Walker and Barlow

If the Sixers are intent on ducking the luxury tax this year (as per usual), they figure to draw out the Walker and Barlow conversions until the last possible second.

They'd have to convert Walker on Feb. 5, which is when he'll hit his 50-game limit as long as he's on the active list for each of the next four games, but they won't have to convert Barlow until March 3. If Barlow misses any time between now and then, the Sixers would have even longer before they'd have to convert him.

If the Sixers do convert Walker on Feb. 5 and give him a prorated veteran-minimum contract rather than dipping into their taxpayer mid-level exception, it would cost them roughly $884,000 this season. If they wait until March 3 to convert Barlow and give him a vet-min deal as well, it would cost around $541,000.

Keep those values in mind as you calculate exactly how much salary the Sixers need to shed at the trade deadline to duck the luxury tax. At a minimum, Barlow and Walker figure to add another $1.425 million to the Sixers' cap sheet. The Sixers are already $7.1 million above the tax line after signing Bassey to his 10-day deal, so those conversions would push them roughly $8.55 million above the tax.

If the Sixers trade Quentin Grimes ($8.7 million) without taking any salary back, that alone would give them just enough room under the tax to convert Walker and Barlow once they hit their respective 50-game limits. However, salary-dumping Kelly Oubre Jr. ($8.4 million) would not. They'd have to dump Eric Gordon ($2.3 million) or Johni Broome ($1.3 million) as well.

By the time they have to convert Walker, we'll have a far better sense of how much the Sixers care about ducking the tax this year. If they exit the trade deadline at least $1.425 million below the tax, it'll be clear that they gamed out the exact conversion dates for Walker and Barlow ahead of time.

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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