PHILADELPHIA SENDS JUSTIN ANDERSON TO ATLANTA, TIMOTHÉ LUWAWU-CABARROT TO OKLAHOMA CITY PHILADELPHIA — JULY 25, 2018 — Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Brett Brown announced today that the team has acquired forward-center Mike Muscala from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade, which also involved Oklahoma City. Philadelphia sends guard-forward Justin Anderson to Atlanta and guard-forward Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot to Oklahoma City. Atlanta also receives forward Carmelo Anthony and a protected 2022 first-round pick from Oklahoma City, while the Thunder acquires guard Dennis Schröder from the Hawks. “Mike Muscala joins our program at a fantastic stage of his career. He has enjoyed some NBA success and his upside in the future is extremely bright,” Brown said. “We will use him both as a backup five and, at times, a power forward. His ability to shoot the ball and the energy with which he plays will help our basketball team.” Muscala appeared in 53 games (seven starts) with Atlanta in 2017-18 and averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game, while shooting .919 from the free-throw line and .371 from three-point range on a career-high 3.2 attempts per contest. The 27-year-old had six games with at least three three-pointers, as he connected on a career-best 62 threes throughout the season. He was one of 14 NBA players 6-foot-11 or taller to make at least 60 three-pointers a season ago. Entering his sixth NBA season, Muscala has played in 243 career games (18 starts), all with Atlanta. The Bucknell alumnus was originally selected by Dallas with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft before being acquired by the Hawks in a draft night trade. Muscala holds career averages of 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest, while shooting .378 from three-point range and .848 from the free-throw line. “We thank both Timmy Luwawu and Justin Anderson for their contributions in growing the 76ers strong culture,” Brown said. “They are fantastic people, extremely dedicated NBA players and will be missed. I believe their new situations will afford them the opportunity to find themselves and give them every chance to stay and grow in the NBA.” Luwawu-Cabarrot was selected by Philadelphia with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. In two seasons with the 76ers, he appeared in 121 games (26 starts), averaging 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16.5 minutes per game. The French native posted at least 20 points on three occasions in his two seasons, including a career-high 24 points on April 10, 2017, against Indiana. Anderson was acquired by the 76ers on Feb. 23, 2017, in a trade with Dallas. Originally selected by the Mavericks with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Anderson has appeared in 168 career games (19 starts) over the course of three seasons. He holds averages of 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. In 62 games with Philadelphia, Anderson increased his averages across the board. ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the most storied franchises in the National Basketball Association, having won three World Championships, earning nine trips to The Finals and making 48 playoff appearances over 69 seasons. The Philadelphia 76ers organization is a Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment property.<doc-sep>#31 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on October 25,2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) #31 of the Atlanta Hawks shoots the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on October 25,2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) Young Philadelphia 76ers wings Justin Anderson and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot are being sent to Atlanta and Oklahoma City respectively, for Mike Muscala. It was only a matter of time until Carmelo Anthony was traded or bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder. We’ve been collectively waiting for the other shoe to drop for weeks now, and a deal has finally been struck. Melo is on his way to the Atlanta Hawks, but reportedly will likely be bought out to sign with the Houston Rockets. The Thunder get Dennis Schroder and TLC, while the Hawks also get a 2022 first round pick from Houston and Justin Anderson from the Philadelphia 76ers. Here’s a graphic to make things a little easier to follow. 76ers Get Mike Muscala Thunder Get Dennis Schroder, Timothe-Luwawu Cabarrot Hawks Get Justin Anderson, Carmelo Anthony. 2022 OKC first round pick (lottery protected) Every trade is a glimpse into the minds of the people running each franchise, and every trade is indicative of a team’s plan moving forward. With that said, let’s see what this means for all three teams (especially our Philadelphia 76ers), and maybe I’ll even throw in a little bonus analysis at the end.<doc-sep>CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 26: Jeremy Lamb #3 of the Charlotte Hornets tries to stop Mike Muscala #31 of the Atlanta Hawks during their game at Spectrum Center on January 26, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) A deeper dive into the Philadelphia 76ers acquisition of Mike Muscala Thursday, news broke that there was a three-way trade, involving the Philadelphia 76ers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks. You can read about the details of the trade and a graded breakdown of it elsewhere on The Sixer Sense. My main focus here is to give you details about the man slated to be the newest members of the Philadelphia 76ers: Mike Muscala. Chances are, unless you really watch Atlanta Hawks basketball for some reason, you don’t know much about Muscala. I’ve spent some hours reviewing and looking at Muscala on film, reviewing the statistics, and considering the surrounding level of talent he achieved those statistics with. I will bring those findings to you here. Lets dive into a quick look at the man Hawks faithful know as “Moose.” Physical Muscala brings to Philly a 6-foot-11, 230-pound frame, all at the age of 27. His wingspan reaches about 7-foot-1, with a max vertical of 33.5 and he is somewhat more athletic then the average NBA 7-footer. Take a look at some athletic highlights below. You’ll see he flies through the air pretty aggressively for a guy who doesn’t get that high up. Numbers You’ll look at 2017-2018 season per game numbers and ask yourself “what is there to be excited about?” Maybe not much. Almost eight points a game, averaging half a block a game, and a three-point percentage that is just above league average. But considering those numbers for a moment: Muscala has a career 49.1 percent average from the field, and despite a 20 minute a night average, his usage rating hasn’t topped 14 percent since his rookie season. In advance stats, Muscala’s assist percentage (that stat that measures what percentage of teammate shots he assists on) is 37.3 percent. The big man assists on a third of his teammates shots. That’s a big deal to me. Additionally, (per Ben Falk) Muscala’s favorite shooting spots are the corners, and the top of the arc. He shows a release that is similar to Robert Covington’s, and like Covington, Muscala doesn’t seem to have an trepidation about shooting the contested three. CleaningtheGlass.com also cites Muscala in the top 81st percentile in shooting accuracy from the corners and slightly over 90 percent free throw shooter. This guy was meant to be a Sixer. Basketball I.Q. Watch the video below. This is a top ten of Moose. Pay particular attention to play number seven, and five. On play number seven, watch Muscala’s head as he backs to the baseline. He looks over to see where his defender is and takes a southwest step to better free himself up for a pass and layup. The Sixers can use someone on the floor who is paying attention to spacing as Coach Brown loves to employ the pace-and-space offense on the floor. On play number five, you will see Mike (and its subtle) take a downward step into the baseline. When the rebound pops high, he is able to slide backward from his place to take the rebound. Why is this important? He understands boxing out. He understands the concept of gaining position to prepare for a board. The Sixers could use more of that. This may seem very minute, but it really is “details that win championships” (s/o to Kobe!) The catch Here is the catch: as of the time of this writing (late Thursday night into Friday morning), this trade is not official. There have been reports that Philadelphia may hold off on making this official, because something else is also in the works. What may that be? There’s plenty of speculation to go around, but for the purposes of this analysis, there’s no need to go into any of it. The overall Should this be made official, I believe it to be a better pick up than Bjelica. It is a seemingly underwhelming acquisition, that will, as the season goes on, pay more dividends than any Sixers fan can anticipate now. Fellow Sixer fans: this is part of the process. And its a good part. Share your thoughts on the Muscala acquisition in the comments!<doc-sep>When Ersan Ilyasova departed for a three-year deal in Milwaukee, the Sixers replaced him with Nemanja Bjelica, because of his ability to space the floor as a big. But when Bjelica bailed, reneging on his agreement to play in Europe (or Sacramento, apparently), the Sixers were left with a hole in their rotation, as they now once again were in need of a big-man who can knock down threes. Well, it looks like that hole has been officially filled. https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1020049180390195202 Per Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the Sixers are involved in the Carmelo Anthony-to-Atlanta deal, making it a three-teamer. They are sending incoming third-year wing Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot to Oklahoma City, and fourth-year wing Justin Anderson to Atlanta, receiving Mike Muscala from the Hawks, a serviceable role player with a limited skillset, but a strength- shooting- that the Sixers were clearly coveting. Muscala will make $5,000,000 this season, in the second year of a two-year contract. He seemingly will play some backup minutes at both power forward and center. Muscala is a career 37.8% shooter from beyond the arc, and last year averaged career-highs 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Dealing both Luwawu-Cabbarot, who was in danger of being the victim of a roster crunch, and Anderson, who has shown flashes but never been consistent, now will make the preseason less stressful for Sixers management, as they now have just 14 guaranteed contracts, not including the seemingly inevitable signing of 2017 second-round pick Jonah Bolden. This deal also shows the confidence that the Sixers seem to have in their other depth wings, specifically new arrival Wilson Chandler and rookie Zhaire Smith, also potentially meaning Las Vegas Summer League standout Furkan Korkmaz could see some run at the beginning of the year. While Chandler and Smith already would have been ahead of Anderson and Luwawu-Cabarrot on the depth chart, this ensures them more minutes right off the bat. Is Muscala a good addition? Did the Sixers give up too much? What do you think, Sixers fans?<doc-sep>
Central Pennsylvania is where Mike Muscala put himself on the path towards making the massive leap from mid-major standout to steady NBA rotation player. Now, as part of a three-team trade finalized Wednesday that also involved the Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks, the former Bucknell star is headed to the southeastern corner of the Commonwealth, where he’ll join the 76ers. To complete the swap, the Sixers dealt Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to the Thunder, which had acquired Muscala via a separate trade with the Hawks. Justin Anderson will be going to Atlanta. After the July free agency period got underway, the Sixers set sights on replenishing their stable of big men, specifically those with “stretch” capabilities. Wednesday’s transaction should help the club fulfill that objective. A 27-year old native from suburban Minneapolis, the 6-foot-11, 240-pound Muscala has carved out a nice niche for himself in the NBA. This past season was his most productive yet, as the forward / center set career-best averages in minutes played (20.0), points (7.6), and rebounds (4.3) in 53 games for Atlanta. Over the course of his five-year career, which, up until Wednesday’s deal, had been spent exclusively with the Hawks, Muscala has shown himself to be increasingly capable of playing inside and out on the offensive end of the floor. This past season, he hit 62 3-pointers on 167 attempts, both of which were personal highs, and representative of the extent to which Muscala has expanded his range. For context, he shot only seven more threes during his first four seasons combined than he did all of last year. Picked 44th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2013 draft, Muscala was sent to Atlanta the same night. He was fresh off a memorable four-year stint at Bucknell, where he reached one NCAA Tournament and was twice named Patriot League Player of the year for the Lewisburg-based school. Originally, Muscala landed his first pro gig overseas in the highly competitive Spanish ACB league. He started 20 games for his team, and posted stellar numbers (14.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg) before signing with the Hawks in February of 2014. Landing with the Sixers, Muscalla figures to vie for minutes among a group of frontcourt players consisting of Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Wilson Chandler, and Amir Johnson.