NBA
Philadelphia 76ers set to Sign Robert Covington
The Philadelphia 76ers are putting final touches on a long-term pact with 23-year-old forward Robert Covington, sources told Basketball Insiders.
According to sources, Covington, the No. 1 overall pick of the Grand Rapids Drive in the recent D-League Draft, will sign a four-year, $4.2 million total deal with the 76ers. He will make $1 million this season. Philly locking up Covington was initially reported via Marc Stein of ESPN.
Over the weekend, Covington made his pre-season debut for the GRD, scoring a game-high 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and recording a +/- evaluation of +22 in a 78-68 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Prior to being waived by the Houston Rockets a few weeks ago, Basketball Insiders has learned that Covington turned down a lucrative two-month proposal from Euroleague power-club CSKA Moscow.
Covington, who was undrafted out of Tennessee State in 2013, earned last season’s NBA D-League Rookie of the Year award and participated in the NBDL All-Star Game.
He averaged 23.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 1.7 assists through 42 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.