Well, the day after some team won the NBA Finals, there is a bit of Sixers slop … though maybe not the slop fans were hoping for.
The team reportedly worked out 2015 first-round pick Sam Dekker, per John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Dekker starred for a Wisconsin team that lost the 2015 national title game to Jahlil Okafor and Duke. Since being drafted by Daryl Morey — then with the Houston Rockets — Dekker has been unable to find solid footing in the NBA. He’s spent a good chunk of his pro career overseas, playing in Russia, Turkey and most recently in England. He was actually named the British Basketball League’s MVP for the 2022-23 season.
A 6-foot-9 forward, Dekker had NBA stints with the Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards. He also had a cup of coffee in Toronto to start the 2021-22 season. The Raptors’ head coach at the time: Nick Nurse. Nurse also has plenty of experience coaching in the BBL, where Dekker most recently played.
Beyond connections with the current Sixers team, it is an outside-the-box idea to work out a player that showed so much promise but frankly hasn’t been good enough to stick in the league. Dekker, now 30, is athletic, long and skilled, but his shot has been inconsistent as a pro. He hit 35.5% of his threes for the London Lions this season, but didn’t shoot it as well the previous couple years.
For now, this is just a workout, but it’s easy to see why this is an avenue Morey is exploring. While the Sixers could have upwards of $65 million in cap space and multiple draft picks to move, if they’re able to land a big fish — hello, Paul George — Morey will have to get creative to fill out the rest of the roster. Signing someone like Dekker to a minimum contract would certainly be creative. Only time will tell if it’d be effective.