OG Anunoby’s visit to Philly brings the Sixers trade needs into focus: ‘It’s that time of the year’

Nick Nurse was in a meeting last Saturday when some of his 76ers colleagues interrupted the head coach with “big news.” The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks had unofficially kicked off the NBA’s trade season with a significant deal, headlined by 3-and-D wing OG Anunoby heading to the Big Apple and standout reserve guard Immanuel Quickley to The North.

“A lot of times, nothing seems to happen until the trade deadline [on Feb. 8],” Nurse said, “and this maybe came in a little earlier. Maybe that kind of gets the ball rolling for other things to happen.”

The new-look Knicks smoked the Sixers, 128-92, Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center, when Anunoby struggled from the floor (3-of-11) but finished with 11 points while guarding Sixers star Tyrese Maxey. And Nurse could offer unique perspective on the move, since he coached Anunoby as he blossomed into an elite perimeter defender and reliable catch-and-shoot player in Toronto.

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That deal also reset the trade landscape for the Sixers, who were viewed by outsiders as a potential Anunoby (and Quickley) landing spot and remain one of the league’s more intriguing teams heading into the deadline. They boast unique status as a contender with the ability to upgrade and sharpen their roster, holding replenished assets such as draft picks and a bevy of expiring contracts (plus potential max cap space) following the James Harden trade.

The four players acquired by the Sixers in that early-season move — Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris , and KJ Martin — can now be “aggregated’” for salary-matching purposes in future deals. And on Jan. 15, a group of players league wide who re-signed last summer with their previous team (including Sixers reserve center Paul Reed) will become eligible to be traded, joining those who reached that status on Dec. 15 after joining new teams as free agents.

It’s worth going back to Toronto to begin this rescan of the market.

After multiple seasons of hanging onto prominent players at the deadline — then letting standout guards Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet leave in free agency in 2021 and 2023, respectively — moving Anunoby (who can decline his player option for 2024-25 and had to free agency, where he will command a massive payday) was a step toward a true rebuild. Now, the speculation turns to two-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam, another one of the more high-profile players set to hit free agency this summer.

An example of how topsy-turvy tracking this all can be? Less than three hours after The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Friday that the Sacramento Kings had emerged as a “serious suitor” for Siakam, he reported that the team was “pulling out of trade talks” for the Raptors standout.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine, meanwhile, returned Friday from a foot injury that kept him out for more than a month — when his team rebounded from a 5-14 start to go 10-7 in his absence. LaVine’s ball-dominant style and hefty contract do not appear to match the Sixers’ needs, though veteran scoring guard DeMar DeRozan, defensive pest Alex Caruso, and/or former Sixers backup center Andre Drummond could join LaVine on the market if the Bulls still turn to a hard reset.

The Utah Jazz’s visit to Philly on Saturday night came with All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, who has been floated more recently as a darkhorse trade candidate. Though he projects as an excellent shooting fit alongside Embiid and Maxey, the Jazz had won seven of their past 10 games before getting blasted in Boston on Friday night and could still view Markkanen as a cornerstone of their rebuild.

Then, the Sixers head to Atlanta on Wednesday, where the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray still remains a clunky fit in the backcourt next to Trae Young (but, as a preferred ballhandler, could run into similar issues alongside Maxey).

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The next category of trade candidates includes bad teams potentially primed to offload players who could help contenders, from the Detroit Pistons’ Bojan Bogdanović and Monte Morris, to the Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma and Tyus Jones. If the Sixers choose not to pursue (or cannot land) a third star, a more traditional backup point guard and reserve big man still look like their biggest positional needs.

The Knicks, meanwhile, are 3-0 since Anunoby’s debut, with victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bulls, and Sixers.

It was a reminder that the NBA’s trade season has begun, more than a month before the deadline. And that one (or two) of the Sixers’ potential targets are officially off the board. And that intrigue will hover over this team until Feb. 8.

“Normal little trade deadline soap opera we go through every year,” reserve guard Patrick Beverley said. “But it’s a part of it. It’s necessary. … It’s that time of the year.”