The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the most active teams in the NBA ahead of the trade deadline last week. They made multiple teams, with their headliner being the acquisition of Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers.
The 76ers also shuffled the depth at point guard, sending Patrick Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Cameron Payne. Philadelphia also sent 2021 first-round pick Jaden Springer to the Boston Celtics.
An extension of the NBA Trade Deadline, those last two deals were made in part to make room for Kyle Lowry. Lowry, who was traded by the Miami Heat to the Charlotte Hornets in the Terry Rozier deal in late January, didn’t play in a game with his new team and was eventually bought out. He headed back home to play with the 76ers after the buyout.
While the deadline this year didn’t have any stars on the move, it wasn’t for a lack of trying by Philadelphia. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, general manager Daryl Morey was attempting to pull off blockbusters.
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Morey reportedly called the Los Angeles Lakers and asked about the availability of LeBron James. Those talks went nowhere and ended quickly when Lakers’ general manager Rob Pelinka countered and asked for Joel Embiid.
James wasn’t the only former MVP that Morey set his sights on. He reportedly placed a call to the Phoenix Suns, gauging if Kevin Durant would be available in a trade. Not surprisingly, he was quickly turned down again.
“These sorts of bold trade calls are historically a common practice for Morey, who also called the Phoenix Suns and asked about the availability of Durant, only to be told Durant was not available, sources said.”
It should come as no surprise that Morey at least gauged the market for stars ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. He already has two with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but if the opportunity presented itself to add a third, he would pull the trigger on the right deal.
Instead, the 76ers will now wait until the offseason to make a splash. In line to have a ton of cap space, Philadelphia’s roster could look vastly different next season than it does now.
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