The deal
Sixers get: Center Tiago Splitter, Miami's protected 2017 second-round pick and swap rights with another 2017 second-rounder
Hawks get: Forward Ersan Ilyasova
Atlanta Hawks: B
When I was looking for trade fits for Ilyasova on Tuesday, I considered the Hawks because they don't really have a clear solution at backup power forward right now. Mike Muscala has been more effective at center and Mike Scott has been ineffective whenever he has been on the court, so Mike Budenholzer has tried a variety of solutions at the spot.
Compared to that hodgepodge, Ilyasova should be an upgrade. He keeps bouncing around -- Atlanta will be his third team this season and sixth in the past two calendar years -- but he stretches the floor as a 3-point shooter (35.5 percent this season, 36.7 percent career) and holds his own defensively. Ilyasova is overqualified for the 15 minutes or so a night the Hawks will need him behind Paul Millsap.
Atlanta also fills a roster spot that has been open all season. Splitter has not played a game due to hamstring and calf injuries and was limited to 36 games total in his year-plus with the Hawks. Sadly, recurring muscle strains may prevent Splitter from ever making a meaningful contribution in the NBA again.
The price for that upgrade was pretty modest. Miami's pick, which is protected from 31-40 this season (it converts to a 2018 second-rounder if it falls there), would currently be 43rd. The swap with the worst of the 76ers' second-round picks (surely one from the Golden State Warriors, almost certainly the last pick in the draft) would move Atlanta's own second-round pick back from No. 50 to No. 60. According to my trade value chart, the combination is equivalent to the 40th pick.
Philadelphia 76ers: B+
Ilyasova served his purpose for the 76ers, giving them needed floor spacing during the first half of this season after being acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jerami Grant in a November trade that may net Philadelphia a first-round pick to go along with this second-rounder and the move up.
If Ben Simmons returns this season, playing time could have gotten tight at power forward between Simmons, Ilyasova and Dario Saric. And while there was some early speculation the 76ers might re-sign Ilyasova as a free agent this summer, there's probably not room for all three players long term.
Another benefit of completing this trade a day early is that Philadelphia can potentially waive Splitter and make room for a lopsided deal adding an extra player prior to the deadline without having to waive rookie Chasson Randle.