76ers claim Thomas Robinson off waivers

It turns out the NBA doesn't give up on lottery picks very quickly.

When the Denver Nuggets landed Thomas Robinson from the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline, teams reportedly began licking their chops at the thought of Robinson hitting the buyout market. 

As many as five potentially playoff-bound teams were believed to be ready to pounce, with the Brooklyn Nets reaching a deal with the former No. 5 pick on Monday.

Unfortunately for Robinson and the Nets, that deal was contingent on Robinson passing through waivers Tuesday, something that isn't going to happen.

The Philadelphia 76ers put a claim in on Robinson, assuming the remainder of his $3.7-million salary in the process, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Had Robinson gone unclaimed, Wojnarowski reports that the Nets would have signed him to a 10-day contract, not a rest-of-season one as had been expected.

The team has announced the move, making it official.

The Sixers claiming Robinson makes plenty of sense. Although Philadelphia has no shot at playoff contention, Robinson's contract pushes them to the league's salary floor. A team doesn't have to reach the salary floor, but it'll be forced to pay out the shortfall to players on its current roster if it doesn't, so spending the money to audition a player is a better allocation of resources. In this case, it also saves the Sixers nearly $2 million in real dollars thanks to some fancy accounting.

In using that money to claim the 23-year-old, Philadelphia will get to evaluate Robinson for 26 games and will own his Bird rights as he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. 

While Robinson has disappointed at three stops already, he hasn't really been given a chance to succeed or grow in a large role. Backing up LaMarcus Aldridge doesn't exactly afford a player a plethora of minutes, and while Robinson's per-minute stats don't suggest he's a hidden gem, his talent and athleticism warrant a longer look.

Robinson may be disappointed landing with a floundering club like Philadelphia, but the opportunity to audition for the league ahead of free agency could be invaluable. 

The move could stand to upset not just Robinson but also the Nets and Denver Nuggets. The 76ers don't have a competitive reason to pluck Robinson from the Nets' grasp, and claiming Robinson sends the Nuggets below the cap floor. Robinson also shares an agent with 32 other NBA players, so it's somewhat of a risky move for Philadelphia all around in terms of relationship management.

In 172 career games, Robinson has averaged 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 13.5 minutes, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor with a below-average 12.1 player efficiency rating.

The Sixers released Tim Frazier to make room on the roster for Robinson. Frazier appeared in six games over two 10-day contracts, averaging 5.7 points and 7.2 assists in 28.5 minutes.