The move the Sixers claim their entire trade deadline was centered around is official, as the team announced Dominick Barlow has been signed to a standard NBA contract.
Derek Bodner of PHLY is reporting the deal includes a team option for next season.
With his 50 NBA days about to be up, the team needed to make a move soon. Though the moves weren’t absolutely necessary to convert Barlow’s two-way contract to a standard one, trading Jared McCain and Eric Gordon did help clear roster spots and get the team below the luxury tax. On a prorated salary for the rest of the season, Barlow’s deal should not put the team in danger of going over the tax.
Barlow bet on himself signing a two-way deal with the Sixers and that bet paid off. The 22-year-old has started in 33 of the 40 games he’s suited up for and been an integral part of the Sixers’ surprising first half of the season. Nothing about his raw numbers truly stands out, but he’s an outstanding glue guy and connective piece this team has so desperately needed. Just the other night in Los Angeles, Barlow scored a career-high 26 points while pulling down 16 rebounds — including 10 offensive — in a win over the Clippers.
It’s hard to know where the team is with its other prominent two-way guy in Jabari Walker, who’s already reached his 50-game limit and is ineligible to play in NBA games. Walker has been solid during his stints, but is very much out of the rotation at the moment. The team also signed Charles Bassey to a second 10-day deal and also signed forward Patrick Baldwin to a 10-day, putting them at a full 15 players on standard deals.
Does Walker get converted? Does Bassey get an NBA look? Do the Sixers scour the buyout market for someone like Haywood Highsmith, who began his NBA career in Philly? For as underwhelming as the trade deadline was, the team does have options moving forward.