The 76ers could be the best fit for former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett

It appears Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, will get his wish and have his contract bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Yahoo Sources: Minnesota progressing on contract buyout with former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett. He would be free agent if clears waivers.

Minnesota forward Anthony Bennett has reached agreement on a contract buyout, soon to free him on waivers, league sources tell Yahoo.

Bennett, a 6-foot-8 forward, was a surprising pick by the Cavaliers in 2013 — most observers had him as a top 10 pick, but none as No. 1 overall (list compiled by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz):

And, perhaps not surprisingly, Bennett never fully realized the potential of being a top overall selection.

Anthony Bennett’s NBA career averages, ranks among No. 1 picks since 1966:
PPG: 4.7, worst
FG pct: 39.3, worst
Win shares: -0.1, worst

After a dismal rookie season (4.2 points and three rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game while shooting 35.6 percent), Cleveland packaged him with Andrew Wiggins and got Kevin Love in a three-team deal that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers.

Bennett continued his struggles in Minnesota last season, averaging 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game for the Timberwolves. He shot a woeful 39.3 percent over his first two seasons.

He is not consistent enough with his outside shot to be used as a true stretch-four and he lacks the quickness to guard small forwards. But at just 22 years old, there should be a few teams interested in adding Bennett to their roster.

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However, they need to be aware of his limitations.

According to Synergy Sports, Bennett was classified as poor when involved in the pick-and-roll, averaging 0.76 points per possession, placing him in the bottom 13 percent of the league. He didn’t fare well on cuts to the basket (0.91 points per possession) or posting up opponents, either (0.5 points per possession). Nor was he adept at spotting up opponents on the catch-and-shoot ( 0.78 points per possession with 36.1 percent shooting).

What he did do well for the Timberwolves last season was score in transition. His 1.38 points per possession ranked 17th among the 102 forwards with at least 30 possessions and we was effective as the first player down the middle of the court, as seen here with an easy dunk against the Grizzlies.

He also used his 6-8, 240-pound frame to his advantage when grabbing offensive rebounds, scoring 1.28 points per play.

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Defensively, he was average at shutting down the ballhandler on the pick-and-roll (0.83 points allowed per possession) and defending in the low post (0.92 points allowed per possession) but poor in one-on-one situations (1.35 points allowed per possession). Bennett made up for it when defending the catch-and-shoot (37.2 percent shooting against).

Yahoo reports that four teams have the salary cap space or the trade exception necessary to absorb Bennett’s $5.8 million contract: the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, 76ers and Jazz.

Portland has an obvious connection: his Team Canada coach Jay Triano is an assistant with the club.

Growing suspicion around league is that Anthony Bennett will wind up in Portland ... where his Team Canada coach Jay Triano is an assistant

But Portland only had a possession in transition 11.7 percent of the time last season and instead focuses on the pick-and-roll (24.7 percent of possessions in 2014) along with the catch-and-shoot and cuts to the basket — situations in which Bennett fares poorly. It is a similar situation with the Jazz, which already runs the pick-and-roll poorly enough that adding Bennett could make things worse.

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Cleveland runs the ball in transition a little more frequently (13.9 percent) and with Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving on the court a lot of the pressure would be taken off Bennett, allowing him to focus on the offensive glass — the Cavs didn’t get many putbacks (5.3 percent of all possessions) and were classified as poor on those opportunities (0.94 points per possession).

That leaves Philadelphia, where there are reports the team is considering putting in a waiver claim for the embattled forward. That could be his best fit.

The 76ers like to run the ball up and down the court (17.1 percent of all possessions, fourth highest in NBA) but are not efficient at generating points while doing it (1.03 points per possessions, third lowest in league). Bennett could help them in those situations.

It’s easy to look at Bennett’s career to date and want to slap the “bust” label on him, but if used in the right situations by the right team, he might be able to fulfill some of his promise.

All points per possession stats courtesy of Synergy Sports

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