Still harboring playoff hopes, Sixers kept their core intact at NBA trade deadline
As expected, they worked on the fringes, adding a sharpshooter, backup point guard and getting below the luxury tax threshold.
The NBA trade deadline was uneventful for the 76ers.
They acquired a sharpshooting guard and reserve point guard and slashed some salary. The Sixers’ decision to largely stand pat before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline was far from surprising. There’s always been a belief that once healthy, their current roster is good enough to push them out of 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and into the season-ending Play-In Tournament.
The Sixers (20-30) will tell you they’re invested in their maximum-salary trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Even if they weren’t, they would be hard-pressed to get what they deem as equal value for the often-injured Embiid and George.
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And this season’s struggles haven’t changed what they view as equal value. The Sixers still believe they’ll be competitive once they get healthy and build more on-court chemistry. Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena will be the first of 32 remaining regular-season opportunities to do that.
Embiid returned on Tuesday to face the Dallas Mavericks after being sidelined since Jan. 4. The 2023 NBA MVP and seven-time All-Star, who then sat out Wednesday’s contest versus Miami Heat, has only played in 14 games. George, a nine-time All-Star, returned against the Heat, after missing the previous five games. He’s played in 31 games.
This game against the Pistons (25-26) will mark just the 11th game the Big Three will be on the floor together. The Sixers are 7-3 in their 10 games.
George says it’s essential for the trio to be in the lineup more consistently.
“I think that’s the reason to come back and give it a go,” said George, who’s playing with a torn tendon in his left pinkie finger. “I want to maximize the rest of this season, try to make some movement. We got a chance to kind of climb up and get back into a play-in or sixth spot if all goes well.
“This last stretch after the All-Star break, for sure going into the All-Star break is very important.”
The Sixers have four games remaining before the All-Star break.
The top six finishers in the Eastern and Western Conference automatically qualify for the playoffs. The teams seeded Nos. 7 through Nos. 10 will compete for their respective conference’s final two postseason berths in the Play-In Tournament.
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The Sixers are a ½ game behind the 10th place Chicago Bulls and 5 ½ games behind the sixth-place Heat (25-24).
So committed to making the playoffs, the Sixers didn’t make any move that would set them backwards. As expected, they worked on the fringes, and slashed salaries to get below the luxury tax threshold.
On Thursday, the Sixers traded Reggie Jackson and their 2026 first-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jared Butler and four second-round picks. The team waived two-way post player Pete Nance to create a roster spot for the two-way guard. Jackson, in turn, was released by the Wizards.
The Sixers started making transactions on Tuesday when they sent Caleb Martin to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Quentin Grimes and their own 2025 second-round pick. On Thursday, the Sixers also gave their 2030 second-round pick to Mavs after consultation with Dallas and the NBA about Martin’s sprained hip injury, according to sources.
Then in a salary dump, the Sixers traded KJ Martin and two second-round picks to the Pistons for cash consideration on Wednesday. On Thursday, Detroit rerouted KJ Martin to the Utah Jazz along with another former Sixer, Josh Richardson, and a 2028 second-round pick.
Caleb Martin and KJ Martin had been sidelined for a while as Sixers.
The Sixers also agreed to sign swingman Chuma Okeke to a 10-day contract of the NBA G-League’s Westchester Knicks on Thursday, according to sources.
Aside from that, the Sixers kept the core rotation players intact for what they hope is a playoff push.