Sixers re-sign Eric Gordon on a veteran minimum deal
With Gordon opting out of his player option and re-signing to a one-year minimum deal, he lowered his salary-cap hit from $3.4 million to around $2.3 million for the Sixers.
Eric Gordon remained a 76er after all.
The shooting guard re-signed with the team Tuesday on a one-year, veteran minimum contract. That came two days after Gordon declined his $3.4 million player option for next season.
This move was always expected, as the 17-year NBA veteran and the Sixers had mutual interest in his return.
» READ MORE: Guerschon Yabusele agrees to two-year deal with Knicks, taking coveted free agent off board for Sixers
The veteran minimum for players with 10 or more seasons of experience is $3.6 million. But by opting out and signing the one-year minimum, the salary-cap hit of $3.4 million for Gordon dropped to around $2.3 million.
In addition to his shooting, the Sixers saw Gordon as a good mentor for first-round pick VJ Edgecombe. Both are members of the Bahamas national team.
But Gordon is coming off a season that officially ended after he had arthroscopic right wrist surgery on Feb. 26. He played in 39 games for the Sixers, the fourth-lowest total of his career. Going forward, there will be questions about his ability to carve out a role on a team that got younger this offseason.
The Indianapolis native had career-low averages of 6.8 points and 19.7 minutes. However, his 40.9% three-point shooting was the third-best of his career. And he was shooting 52.6% on three-pointers during a 17-game stretch in January before injuries derailed his season.
» READ MORE: Johni Broome was a winner at the college level. He hopes to prove that it translates to the NBA.
After that run, Gordon missed the Sixers’ next two games against the Boston Celtics (Feb. 2) and Dallas Mavericks (Feb. 4) with a knee injury.
He then struggled through 2-for-13 shooting — including going 1 of 8 on three-pointers — against the Miami Heat (Feb. 5) and Detroit Pistons (Feb. 7) before the wrist injury limited him to 8 minutes, 55 seconds against the Milwaukee Bucks (Feb. 9). That was Gordon’s last appearance of the season.
“It was tough because I wanted to play as many games as I can,” Gordon said in April of having his season cut short. “I mean, it was hurting bad when it happened. … I was trying to grind through it for a little while, and then when I got hit with that, it was like, ‘Your season has to end.’
“So, of course, it was disappointing. And this year was tough for us, too. So when you reflect on that, it’s just been a tough overall year.”
It was a tough year largely because of injuries, as the Sixers’ Big Three of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey combined to miss 134 games.
The team finished with the league’s fifth-worst record at 24-58.