James Ennis has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the 76ers

According to Shams Charania, reporting for The Athletic and Stadium, the Sixers are bringing swingman James Ennis back. While the trades this season for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris made the most headlines, the acquisition of Ennis around the deadline was one of the front office’s shrewder moves of the year. Ennis is a good athlete, stemming from his days as a high school triple-jumper, having won the Western State Conference and Southern California Regional championship clearing a 6’11 mark with his vert. The Ventura, California native played a key role for the Sixers in their playoff-push, after winning the “quiet tournament” for minutes against teammates Furkan Korkmaz and Jonathon Simmons.

A deal worth $4.1m over two years, this represents a bit of a surprise. It seemed as if Ennis would be able to pursue larger contracts elsewhere and apparently that was the case. According to Charania, Ennis has taken less money in order to return to a playoff contender to pursue a title in Philadelphia. Earlier today it was reported by Ian Begley of SNY that the Knicks were interested in his services.

Bobby Marks of ESPN points out some of the clever ways the Sixers have kept costs low in order to sign or retain some now key members of their bench: