After being involved in NBA trade rumors centered around Kyle Lowry for close to a month now and after making a major push for him today during the NBA trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers were unable to strike a deal with Toronto for the 6x All-Star point guard, so they went out and traded for veteran guard George Hill instead.
In a three-team deal, the Philadelphia 76ers were able to acquire George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Ignas Brazdeikis from the New York Knicks in exchange for Tony Bradley (who went to the Thunder), Terrance Ferguson (who went to the Knicks) and two future second-round picks (2025 and 2026 to Oklahoma City). The Knicks also included Austin Rivers in the three-team deal, sending him to the Thunder and in addition to Ferguson, New York received Vincent Poirier, who will be waived, the rights to foreign wing Emir Preldzic, and a protected 2024 second-round pick via Miami .
The 76ers have been looking to improve their backcourt for months now and while Kyle Lowry would have been a “homerun” acquisition by them, sources tell NBA Analysis Network that the Sixers were not willing to budge on including Matisse Thybulle in a trade scenario for him. As a result, Philly decided to go with George Hill, who they have also been targeting for months now.
The veteran guard was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder this past offseason in a deal that sent Steven Adams to New Orleans and Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee, but he has been out since January with a thumb injury. Overall, Hill is still a high-level player and when he is on the court, he is a difference maker for any team’s second-unit.
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George Hill led the league in three-point shooting last season with Milwaukee, shooting 46.0% from three-point range, and this season, in his limited time with the Thunder, averaged 11.8 points and shot 38.6% from three-point range.
Oklahoma City has been looking to move on from George Hill, a veteran player that does not have a future with them, and getting more draft picks was the ultimate goal at the NBA trade deadline. Now, they end up with two more second-round picks, bringing them to 34 draft picks over the next 7 years and they also got a really solid young big man in Tony Bradley.
For New York, they have been looking to move Austin Rivers and they did so, also moving Ignas Brazdeikis, for a young, athletic wing in Terrance Ferguson. Everybody in this deal seemed to get what they wanted, so let’s breakdown the moves made by each team and take a look at if their moves make them better.
