The rumors are beginning to fly for the Philadelphia 76ers as draft night is set to potentially start off with a bang. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey announced the Sixers’ intentions of acquiring James Harden’s former teammate with the Houston Rockets’ Eric Gordon. Pompey stated that Philadelphia is attempting to acquire Gordon and would like Portland to join the deal as a third team.
According to Pompey, the Blazers are interested in acquiring Matisse Thybulle, and a deal may work itself out, but Philadelphia 76ers’ President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, would like the Blazers to join the framework of the potential Eric Gordon deal to do so. It’s quite the curious development as draft night rapidly approaches as one of the Sixers’ few assets is the 23rd pick tonight.
Houston already owns the 3rd, 17th, and 26th picks in tonight’s draft. It’s unlikely that they would like a fourth first-rounder especially considering the young talent that is already on the team. Involving a team like Portland, which boasts a bit more draft flexibility than Philadelphia, is a wise way to get a deal done. There is, however, the simple matter of convincing Portland to make the deal.
The Blazers may be willing to sacrifice enough cap space to bring on Thybulle but to make the Gordon deal work, they’ll likely need to absorb the salary of Danny Green and perhaps more. Is that something a team looking to make a quick turnaround would do? Admittedly that is a tough ask, but if Daryl Morey and the Sixers are able to make it worthwhile for Portland, they may have a deal in place for a new combo guard in Eric Gordon.
