Could the Sixers make a trade during the NBA draft? Here’s why ‘all options are on the table’

The NBA’s offseason player movement got underway last week, when the Chicago Bulls traded coveted defensive guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for young point guard Josh Giddey.

This week’s draft, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday in New York, is also ripe for such moves for the 76ers. President of basketball operations Daryl Morey acknowledged as much during last month’s end-of-season news conference, saying trading the 16th overall pick is one of “all options on the table” while entering this piece of a critical summer.

It’s easy to think of a draft-night trade through the prism of that year’s picks, such as when Luka Dončić and Trae Young were swapped for each other in 2018, when Kobe Bryant went from the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, and, unfortunately for the Sixers, when Mikal Bridges was dealt to the Phoenix Suns for Zhaire Smith in 2018.

» READ MORE: The Sixers pick outside the lottery — and that’s not the worst thing

But if the Sixers move the 16th (or 41st) pick, their ideal path is likely to acquire an established player who can be a win-now complement to All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. This occurred in 2022, when Morey traded the Sixers’ first-round pick and Danny Green for De’Anthony Melton, a multi-skilled guard who was a helpful rotation player until spine issues derailed his 2023-24 season. Or during an active 2020, when, as part of a flurry of moves, the Sixers sent out Al Horford and Josh Richardson (and second-round selections Theo Maledon and Tyler Brey) and brought in Green and Seth Curry.

The Sixers also have an additional four first-round picks from future years, plus multiple pick swaps, that could be traded beginning Wednesday. But because the Sixers have 10 free agents this summer, the only players they can (or would) consider moving during the draft are Paul Reed and Ricky Council IV, unless a sign-and-trade was arranged.

A draft-night trade could also signal the Sixers are feeling less confident with free-agency possibilities — such as if Paul George signed an extension with the Los Angeles Clippers — because a move to add a prominent player’s salary would cut further into their estimated $65 million available cap space than a rookie’s projected $4 million.

Big names such as the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, the New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram, the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, and the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young and Dejounte Murray have been floated as possible league-wide trade targets entering the draft and free agency. Ditto for next-tier players such as Bridges, the Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Malcolm Brogdon and former Sixer Jerami Grant. In the role-player category, the Utah Jazz’s Collin Sexton and Brooklyn’s Dorian Finney-Smith are among the names to monitor.

Smaller deals are also possible for the Sixers, such as trading down to acquire additional assets that could be used in future moves. One wrinkle this year is the draft has been expanded to two days, giving front offices more time to mull over second-round picks and potential trades. Last year, the Sixers did not enter the draft with a pick and chose not to acquire any selections, instead signing the undrafted Council and Terquavion Smith to two-way contracts.

» READ MORE: This year's NBA draft and free agency moves will be critical for Sixers, Daryl Morey

But there are recent examples of draft-night moves involving high-level players. After one three-way deal involving the Clippers fell apart last summer, the Boston Celtics swiftly found another one to land standout center Kristaps Porziņģis — a final component to their 2024 title-winning team — while sending 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2022, the Detroit Pistons sent Grant to the Trail Blazers, who back then were trying to add talent around Damian Lillard but are now in the depths of a rebuild. And in 2021, the Lakers acquired 2016-17 MVP Russell Westbrook, in a deal that quickly revealed itself as disastrous.

Could the Sixers begin their crucial offseason with their own trade splash at the draft? We’ll find out starting Wednesday.