76ers hold workout for Joe Johnson and Spencer Hawes
Per ESPN’s Marc Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers are holding a private workout today for Joe Johnson and former-Sixer Spencer Hawes.
Johnson, a six-time All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks, is looking to take another swing at the NBA after sitting out last season unsigned. He is fresh off an MVP season in the BIG3, where he led the league in nearly ever major stat; points, assists, rebounds, steals, three pointers, and FOUR pointers.
Joe Johnson (@TheJoeJohnson7) could not be stopped his first season in the BIG3. It’s no surprise that his fellow players and coaches voted him this year’s MVP 🏆🏆🏆 #NoOrdinaryJoe pic.twitter.com/L4wXTDynsc
— BIG3 on CBS (@thebig3) August 27, 2019
The 38-year old, 17-season vet is best known for his three point stroke and his ability to break players down in isolation. Iso Joe was last seen in the NBA playing a bench role with the Houston Rockets in 2018.
Hawes, 31-years old, has been out of the league for the past two seasons after an underwhelming stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. The former tenth overall pick recently played in Jamal Crawfords pickup league, The Crawsover, and dominated the competition.
Spencer Hawes dropping 32 points and 36 REBOUNDS @TheCrawsover earlier this month.
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) August 29, 2019
Much like Johnson, Hawes is best known for his three point shot and ability to stretch the floor. He spent three and a half seasons in Philadelphia and shot 36% from three.
While it’s hard to imagine a role for Hawes on this Sixers team – outside of furthering Brett Brown’s passion for collecting big men – there could be a place for Iso Joe. The Sixers lack a viable scoring threat off the bench outside of Mike Scott and Johnson has shown he still has the ability to break a defender down like a folding chair. Of course, it all came in the BIG3 so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s hard to argue against those four pointers.
There’s a good chance the Sixers walk away from the workout unimpressed by both players and sign neither of them. But at least this gives us something to distract ourselves from the numbing boredom of the Sixers-less Summer, which helps.
