Shooting guard Marco Belinelli has committed to the Philadelphia 76ers after being bought out by the Atlanta Hawks, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowksi. The Sixers will receive a healthy boost to their mediocre 3-point shooting as a team with the addition of the Italian sniper.
Guard Marco Belinelli has committed to the Philadelphia 76ers to sign a free agent contract, league sources tell ESPN. Belinelli agreed to a buyout with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and can sign with the Sixers upon clearing waivers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 11, 2018
Belinelli is now waiting to clear waivers after the Hawks failed to find a trade partner for his services this past Thursday. Prior to the news, it was believed that a number of contenders were reportedly looking into adding the 6-foot-5 guard to their fold.
Instead, Belinelli opted to join a Sixers team that is trying to keep its head above waters in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They currently own the last postseason spot, but things are too tight in their vicinity that two or three games could see them skyrocket to the fourth spot or plummet to number nine.
In 52 games for the Hawks, he was able to muster 11.4 points per game on 37 percent shooting from long distance. Over the course of his ten-year career, Belinelli has averaged 9.8 points per game.
With the addition of his floor-spacing skill, Ben Simmons will have more weapons to choose from for kick outs and Joel Embiid should see the floor become wider when Brett Brown decides to flank his five with more shooters.
The Sixers are all business in their bid to barge into the postseason after years of futility and blatant tanking. Belinelli has four playoff appearances under his belt — two of which were with the San Antonio Spurs, perhaps the modern NBA's gold standard when it comes to a winning culture.
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