Daryl Morey, Philadelphia 76ers
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Philadelphia 76ers hold the key to the 2025 NBA Draft with the third overall pick. After a disappointing 24-58 season that saw their “Big 3” of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey miss a combined 134 games due to injuries, the 76ers need to get younger and more athletic. The question remains: will they keep the pick or package it for a premier player?
According to The Athletic’s NBA insider Sam Vecenie, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is expected to listen to offers for the No. 3 selection. Regardless, Philadelphia’s fate next season will be tied to the health of Embiid and George. Embiid was hampered by a left knee injury throughout the season and appeared in only 19 games. He underwent arthroscopic surgery in the offseason with no current timetable for his return.
George suited up for 41 games before being shut down late in the season after receiving injections in his left adductor muscle and knee.
If the 76ers decide to trade the pick, Vecenie proposed a blockbuster deal with the Brooklyn Nets, a team Morey has made franchise-altering deals with before when he sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for James Harden.
76ers receive:
Power forward Cam Johnson
No. 19 and No. 27 picks in 2025 NBA Draft
Nets receive:
“Such a deal would allow the Nets to potentially get the upside swing at No. 3, keep No. 8 and still have another late first-round pick to accumulate talent,” notes Vecenie. “For the Sixers, they’d get a player who helps them a lot the next two years in Johnson, then they would get two later firsts this year to be able to potentially get a wing (say, Nique Clifford, Liam McNeeley, Noah Penda or Will Riley at No. 19) and a backup big man (maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner at No. 27) to fill a lot of holes on the roster.”
Vecenie added: “That deal is also just about cash-neutral if you throw in a swap of Eric Gordon to the Nets and Drew Timme to the Sixers, while also accounting for the cost difference between the $11.1 million that the No. 3 pick will be owed at 120 percent of the rookie scale and the combined $6.6 million that the No. 19 and No. 27 picks would be owed. Such a deal would keep the Sixers about $22 million away from the second apron, allowing them to re-sign [Quentin] Grimes and still potentially have enough space to try to use the taxpayer midlevel exception to keep Guerschon Yabusele.”
With Embiid and George on the roster, the 76ers remain in win-now mode. As the Eastern Conference landscape appears fluid heading into next season, it wouldn’t be surprising if Morey uses the third pick to acquire multiple assets that could instantly upgrade his injury-ravaged team. Adding depth could also help the 76ers better survive the inevitable games when Embiid and George are unavailable.