The NBA Trade Deadline is February 5th at 3pm. That puts teams right around the 50-game mark to decide whether they have the goods to either get to the top or get to the bottom of the NBA. One team that you can confidently say will not be doing either is our Philadelphia 76ers. Since the Thunder own our first-round pick and 70% of our salary cap is tied to the injured and undependable duo of Joel Embiid and Paul George, we may be in a bit of a holding pattern for the next 2.5 years.
Of course, our GM is Daryl Morey and he is not someone to stay still for too long. He is going to try his best to work the edges in order to either make the current team incrementally better or to put us in a position to pounce when the time comes. Let’s see what we could do…
Assets
- Tradeable Draft Picks:1
- 2026 – None
- 2027 – Sixers 1st, Sixers 2nd, Suns/Warriors 2nd (more favorable)
- 2028 – Clippers 1st2, Sixers 2nd, Warriors 2nd
- 2029 – Sixers 1st (with right to swap with Clippers), Sixers 2nd
- 2030 – Sixers 1st, Wizards 2nd, Blazers/Suns 2nd (more favorable)
- 2031 – Sixers 1st, Sixers 2nd
- 2032 – Sixers 1st, Sixers 2nd
- Tradeable Contracts3
- Paul George – $51.7m
- Kelly Oubre – $8.4m
- Andre Drummond – $5m
- Jared McCain – $4.2m
- Cap Space
- Tax – $-7m
- 1st Apron – $1m
- 2nd Apron – $13m
Paul George
Paul George is a negative asset, do not kid yourselves into thinking otherwise. What is a negative asset? Well, his contract is so bad (3/$161m including this year) and he is so unreliable to actually play, that the Sixers would need to attach at least a 1st round pick to him for someone to want him. The Sixers will not be doing that. As long as Joel Embiid as an albatross too, clearing out 1 big contract at the expense of a draft pick isn’t worth it. However, this doesn’t mean all is lost. The odds of him getting dealt are low, but not impossible. The Sixers would need another team to want to consolidate some of their bad contracts into a single bad contract. Basically, the Sixers need to split PG apart in order to eventually get off him. Are there any possible takers?
- Chicago Bulls – PG and Kelly Oubre for Patrick Williams and the expiring contracts of Nikola Vucevic and Kevin Huerter. The early feel good story of the Bulls is slowly fading as they have lost 5 in a row. Patrick Williams is a lost cause at this point and the Bulls gave him an inexplicable 5/$90m extension as only the Bulls would do. This allows Chicago to get something out of the deal even if it is the more cumbersome PG contract. They are interested in making the playoffs and this allows them to do it. PG is their floor raiser. The Sixers take a big L on PG, but are now infinitely more maneuverable.
- Portland Trailblazers – PG for Jerami Grant and Robert Williams. Maybe both teams say no to this in that Williams and Grant both come off the bench for Portland. It is a clear upgrade for Portland, but also saddles them with an even worse contract than Grant’s 3/$96m left. Would the Sixers rather have that deal than PG? It would bring them under the luxury tax. It’s still probably a no or a maybe. I feel like there is some fine tuning that could make this work.
- Sacramento Kings – PG for DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk. If there is one team you don’t have to convince to take on a bad deal, it’s the Kings. They are also a total mess as constructed. PG would actually help them move the ball, play defense, and aid on court chemistry. Monk is on the books for an average of $20m for the next 3 years. That’s brutal. Neither he nor DeMar would fit in well with the Sixers, but this is about maneuverability rather than production.
- Milwaukee Bucks (and Washington Wizards) – PG to Milwaukee; CJ McCollum and Bobby Portis to Philadelphia; Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr, and Cole Anthony to Washington. The Bucks are desperate to keep Giannis happy and this might be their best chance of doing it without napalming the little draft equity they have left. The Sixers get Portis who could probably help them and shave off 2 years of PG commitment. This is a wash for Washington, but need their 2nd round picks back from the Sixers to convince them to take another year of Kuzma.
- Miami Heat – PG and Kelly Oubre to the Heat for Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Herro. The Sixers would need to throw in a draft pick for this one, but it’s not crazy even if it is a longshot. Herro can score with the best of them, but his defense makes him nearly unplayable in the playoffs. He also wants a new contract. While PG offers a lower offensive ceiling, he does give the Heat a 2-way player that gives them a chance come playoff time.
Kelly Oubre
If healthy, Oubre can help a contender. He plays solid defense, makes high energy plays, and when given exactly the right amount to do doesn’t force anything. Any playoff team would like to have him and his $8m contract. The problem is that any contender would likely have to send us back roughly $8m in salary to make a deal work. Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to mention why we would trade him. The Sixers are approximately 1 Kelly Oubre salary above the luxury tax line. Unless they can toss Andre Drummond in too to bring back less salary, Oubre will likely just be salary dumped to a bad team. Let’s see if we can make something up…
- Chicago Bulls – Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre to Chicago Bulls for Jevon Carter and 2028 2nd round pick. This is a we-are-trying-to-make-the-playoffs trade for the Bulls. Carter is an expiring contract and we duck the tax.
- Cleveland Cavaliers (and Brooklyn Nets) – Kelly Oubre to Cavs, Lonzo Ball and 2026 and 2028 2nds from Cavs to Nets. The Cavs have big guys and small guys, but wing defenders isn’t their strong point. The Sixers get nothing out of this, but don’t lose anything either and they duck the tax. [throws up]
- If we can’t do a deal like that, then it will end up being a salary dump to Washington or Brooklyn with 2nd round picks going out. You would hope that the Sixers would rather pay the tax than give up assets, but I doubt it.
Jared McCain?
McCain probably will not be dealt, but it feels like it is only a matter of time before the Sixers move him for someone who fits better.
- San Antonio Spurs – Jared McCain and Kelly Oubre for Stephon Castle. Last year’s rookie of the year can’t shoot very well, but he is a dogged PG on offense and defense. The thing is, the Spurs have De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper. McCain is a much better shooter and can fit better on the Spurs who have defense to spare. It’s not exactly a perfect fit for either team though.
- Orlando Magic – Jared McCain to Orlando for Anthony Black and a 2026 first round pick. Black is a backup large guard on the Magic who desperately need shooting. McCain is the ideal backcourt partner for someone like Jalen Suggs. Black is the ideal backcourt partner for someone like Tyrese Maxey. McCain has more upside and a year of extra control meaning the first comes back to the Sixers who are happy for the extra ammunition.
- Atlanta Hawks – Jared McCain and Kelly Oubre to Atlanta for Zaccharie Risacher and 2026 Pelicans 1st. Consider this the backup plan for Trae Young’s possible departure. Risacher was the #1 pick last year, but McCain is easily the better player and fit for this hyper athletic roster in need of more shooters. McCain becomes the missing combo guard with ball handling skills and range that a Trae Young-less Hawks team needs. Risacher fits much better on the Sixers due to his size and position, but this is a bet on him being a late bloomer plus the great pick coming from the Pelicans.
A lot can change over the next 30 games, but barring injury all of these deals should still be there by the deadline. The big wonders are whether Giannis or Trae Young have moved. They will dictate much about the market. One thing is for sure, the Sixers are going to do their best to duck the tax.
- Due to the Stepian Rule, teams can’t trade all their 1sts in consecutive years. This means the most 1sts we could trade this year is 3 (’28, ’30, ’32). Next year, it will jump to 4 (’27, ’29, ’31, ’33) ↩︎
- The Sixers 1st is owned by the Nets from the Harden/Simmons trade. It is Top 8 protected but let’s assume we are sending it ↩︎
- Not including the minimum contracts or the guys who will definitely not be traded ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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