Marco Belinelli may make 76ers debut Monday night

Marco Belinelli will sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he may make his debut very quickly on Monday night.

In the wake of the trade deadline last week, the buyout market is bringing a second wave of NBA transactions. Marco Belinelli was bought out by the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and his signing with the Philadelphia 76ers is down to a formality. Once he officially signs, Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice has reported Bellinelli may make his 76ers’ debut Monday night against the New York Knicks.

The 76ers are currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, as they push to make the playoffs for the first time in five years. They are 13th in the league in three-point shooting (36.2 percent) and 16th in attempts from beyond the arc (28.9 per game), which is decidedly middle of the pack in both categories but not necessarily a red flag going forward. But outside of J.J. Redick (41.2 percent from beyond the arc; 6.6 attempts per game), Philadelphia is a little short on perimeter shooters. Robert Covington currently leads the team in three-point attempts per game, with an even seven per contest.

That’s where Belinelli comes in. He averaged 11.4 points per game over 52 games for the Hawks this season, while making 37.2 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll also be a veteran with playoff experience on the sixth-youngest team in the NBA, which gives him some intangible value to Philadelphia. A lot of times money talks in these situations, but Belinelli choosing the 76ers is notable with reported interest from the Golden State Warriors.

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Belinelli will not be the sole reason the 76ers make the playoffs, or pull a first-round upset if they get there. But he will add another option to an area that needs improvement, and a clutch moment or two could be coming.