Coming off a rough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s become painfully obvious that the Philadelphia 76ers have a depth issue.
The Sixers have plenty of work to do if they’re going to turn this roster into a contender. If Daryl Morey is going to fill out this team, his best bet is through the trade market, and there’s plenty of options.
Trades Options For The Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers will have plenty of teams to choose from when looking for a trade partner, many of which are in their own conference.
The team should look to pilfer the East’s bottom-dwellers to build a bench worthy of post-season contention.
Trade #1 – The Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are on the fast track to the bottom of the East. While it’s not entirely their fault, the truth is that the team is better off selling off some short-term pieces for future picks and flexibility—pieces like Al-Farouq Aminu and James Ennis.
At one time, Aminu was a solid two-way role player who helped solidify a competitive Portland Trail Blazers team from 2015-19.
Aminu would primarily play power forward at this point in his career, which is exactly what the Sixers need. Aminu could be the much-needed stretch four off the Sixers bench while playing at least average defense.
James Ennis, meanwhile, would return to the Sixers as a solid two-way contributor. He’s not necessarily a difference-maker, but he certainly would improve the Sixers’ current bench.
The best part is that the two would come about as cheap as possible. Ennis is legitimately a buy-out candidate while Aminu is owed over $10 million next season, something the Magic would certainly prefer off their books.
Trade #2 – The Detroit Pistons
The Sixers have a clear need for ball handling and shooting. They can answer both of those needs by calling up the Detroit Pistons for a couple of their expendable players.
The Sixers have been directly connected to Delon Wright to the point that they have allegedly reached out to Detroit about him.
Wright would be a flawless fit as he does a little bit of everything and the Sixers bench needs everything. He can shoot, score (yes, that’s different), defend, and handle the ball.
He also is under contract through the 2022 season at an extremely reasonable $8.5 Million. Even more reasonable is the $2.5 million that Wayne Ellington makes this season.
The Wynnewood, PA native has been one of the lone bright spots for a dreadful Detroit Pistons team. His game isn’t as versatile as Wright’s, but he can provide the Sixers some much-needed shooting off the bench.
Neither player would command a king’s ransom on the open market, but together, their value is obviously increased.
A first and a second are more than fair.
Trade #3 – The Oklahoma City Thunder/Cleveland Cavaliers
Finally comes a three-team deal that by itself would nearly fix the Sixers’ bench.
Philadelphia could not only take advantage of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ position in the standings but also play right into the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s hands. The Thunder have made it no secret that they’re looking to move basically every player over the age of 25 for draft capital.
The Philadelphia 76ers would certainly be happy to help if it meant they could add combo-guard George Hill.
Hill checks all the boxes for the Sixers much the way Delon Wright does, possibly more so. His shooting, defense, and veteran leadership could not only replace but supersede that of Danny Green. He could with the starters or the bench and move back and forth with ease.
Larry Nance, meanwhile, would be a perfect fit as a 3&D power forward. It’s hard to envision Cleveland trading the son of the legendary Cav, but it’s not illogical.
The Cavaliers are certainly better this year but are likely two years away from the playoffs, let alone contention. Nance is clearly outside of their timeline, as he will be 30 by that time.
Cleveland is better off moving him for what they can get and focusing on future draft picks and financial flexibility, much like the Orlando Magic.
Last but not least is the addition of Kenrich Williams. The third-year player out of TCU has started to hit his stride in OKC and looks to have found his role at the NBA level.
As a shooter specifically, he has come leaps and bounds. Williams is now a 42.2% shooter from deep. That’s an eye-popping increase of 16.4%. Even more impressive is his corner three-point percentage, 63.6%.
While he only takes 2.6 threes per 36 minutes, the skill is there, and his volume could certainly increase. Either way, he is on an extremely reasonable three-year, $6 million deal.
The Sixers could certainly do much worse than a trade package that nets them two fringe starters and a cheap bench piece.
