Make no mistake, last week’s Draft Lottery was a good outcome for the Sixers. Sure, it could have been better, but any result that had Philadelphia retain its top-six protected pick would have been a good result.
For us at Liberty Ballers, and everyone else that covers the team, the third overall pick was probably the BEST result. The content that comes from having the third overall pick in this draft seems to be endless. The folks at ESPN seem to agree as they released a post-combine mock draft on Monday morning and noted that the draft gets particularly interesting at three.
With Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper widely regarded as the top two picks in draft, the third overall selection is where a new tier of prospects seems to begin. Some talent evaluators will say there is no prospect with a superstar ceiling after Flagg and Harper. Others might believe in the ceiling of one of the remaining prospects, but won’t agree on who that prospect is. Additionally, with the Sixers being the team that landed this pick, arguments can be made about the value of the pick in trades given the urge for Philadelphia to return to contention next season.
If you want my two cents, there aren’t many trades involving this pick that I’m interested in. I understand the NBA readiness of each prospect can vary, but I find it hard to believe that if the Sixers stick and pick, they’re going to end up with a prospect drafted at third overall who does not contribute at all as a rookie. In other words, they’re still making themselves better by selecting a player at No. 3. The crux of the debate is how much better can the Sixers make themselves by trading the pick and acquiring an established NBA player and if you can be confident enough in the health of Joel Embiid and Paul George next season to make that trade a worthwhile venture.
I’m not there when it comes to Embiid and George being significantly more available next season and performing at the levels we all expected they would prior to the start of last season. Therefore, picking a player that still helps the team next season, but also allows you to get younger and brightens the future is the route I would go. But, for the trade machine crowd, here’s what I would look for if the third overall pick is being sent out.
A player still in his 20s
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name is buzzing in trades left and right with all but four NBA teams now into the offseason. I think the Sixers would probably have to include Tyrese Maxey with the third overall pick in order for Milwaukee to even seriously engage with them. We know Daryl Morey has a penchant for star hunting and perhaps he has already checked in with the Bucks on what it would take to bring in Giannis, who turns 31 about one month into the 2025-26 season. The Sixers were already the NBA’s oldest roster by average age at the start of last season and this kind of trade makes them even older. Antetokounmpo would immediately be the best player on the Sixers and therefore you would be asking less of Embiid and George, but are you willing to go this far in on the health of Embiid and George?
Kevin Durant’s name has also circulated a bit as well, specifically in the aforementioned latest ESPN mock draft. A Durant trade would likely involve George being sent out but Durant turns 37 in September. Of course, Maxey’s name wouldn’t be floating around in these discussions, and you would be shedding the George contract, but Durant would then become Philadelphia’s marquee offseason acquisition with the third overall pick being traded away. Durant’s team couldn’t even get into the play-in tournament last season and he played with Devin Booker. We’re supposed to be confident in Durant, whatever’s left of Embiid and Maxey being the nucleus of a championship team in the near future?
Lauri Markkanen and Cam Johnson are a few names that would make some more sense. Markkanen, who was also discussed as a trade target for Philly by ESPN, is entering his age 28 season. He is two years removed from winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. His numbers tapered off a bit this past season but he also only appeared in 47 games for Utah. Even if the Sixers get good health years from Embiid and George in 2025-26, there’s probably only a two-year window to win a championship with those two players on the roster. Therefore, at the end of that window, Markkanen would be 30 and a stabilizing presence in the frontcourt with Maxey and Jared McCain still in their 20s in the backcourt.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie floated Johnson’s name out as a possibility for Philadelphia and you can find his proposed trade here. Johnson will be heading into his age 29 season in 2025-26. Given his shooting skills and size, there’s a pretty natural fit for him on the current Sixers roster as a wing player in the starting lineup next to George. He would undoubtedly be an upgrade from Kelly Oubre who is sent out in this hypothetical trade. Do you trust the Sixers to get at least one rotation player out of the 19th and 27th overall picks? That’s what it feels like Vecenie’s trade proposal comes down to in order for it to be a good move for the Sixers.
A player with more potential to tap into
I can be talked into Markkanen and Johnson, but one thing that’s holding me back on both guys is the idea that they have probably hit their peaks. They’re both good players and would help the Sixers instantly, but Morey is in a very rare position this offseason of having to strike a balance between immediate acquisitions that can help the Sixers get back to contention next season, and future considerations that allow for things to be less bleak if Embiid and George are not much healthier next season.
We mentioned Markkanen winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award recently. Ideally, I would be looking to acquire a contender for next season’s MIP award. In other words, I would be looking to acquire someone who might not currently be viewed as better than Markkanen or Johnson, but will be viewed that way a year from now. A player in his mid to late 20s that takes an instant leap would help the Sixers immensely next season while also being a part of their future after Embiid and George.
When it comes to possible fits here, there are some teams in the lottery that could be interested in acquiring a second lottery pick and might part with a roster player that has this kind of upside to do so. Herb Jones in New Orleans comes to mind. Jones has been an excellent defender with the Pelicans, finishing fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024 and being named a first-team All-Defense selection. He missed most of last season with a labrum injury and has two years left on his current contract at about $14 million per year. In 2023-24, Jones played 76 games for New Orleans and shot 41% from the three-point line. If Philadelphia can unlock more of a consistent offensive game from Jones, he could make some sense and New Orleans could look to start over after making the playoffs twice with Jones.
Portland is another team in the lottery that intrigues me from this standpoint. Like New Orleans, Portland struggles to attract high-level free agents and would need to get its high-end talent thru the draft. There are some good young players on the Trail Blazers roster, but they certainly lack a clear superstar and nothing really starts as far as championship contention in the NBA until you have that guy. What if the Blazers love the top of the draft and want to keep their 11th overall selection? Deni Avdija would certainly fit in nicely on the wing for the Sixers and Shaedon Sharpe’s athleticism and finishing ability make him a tantalizing target.
A player with a limited injury history
This is probably the most important ingredient of all. If you are trading away the third overall pick, you are doing so because you believe the team can turn things around quickly and the pick is more valuable in a trade than it is in drafting a prospect that might take at least a few years to hit his ceiling. Therefore, you have to get someone that’s going to come in immediately and play at least 60 games next season.
Of course, anyone can get hurt at any time so in theory a player that had been pretty healthy most of his career could twist an ankle in training camp and miss multiple months. That would be a very Sixers thing to happen if it did occur. But, trading for a player that has injury red flags just because the player might have a high ceiling when healthy would just be a bad process on behalf of Morey and company considering they’re already crossing their fingers to some extent on the health of Embiid and George.
I don’t have specific names to throw out here, because there are plenty of players the Sixers could acquire in a trade with the third overall pick who are mostly clean from an injury standpoint. But I do want to close by highlighting how challenging I believe it will be to find the right player to acquire. I’m looking for a mostly healthy player in his 20s that could still grow into something better than he already is when he’s already a good enough player to consider trading the third overall pick for. I’m not sure that player is out there or if the team that current rosters that player would even want to trade him. I guess you can see why I prefer to just stay at three and select a prospect.