The 2023 Sixers Adam Trade Deadline Primer
The top 30 trade targets for the Sixers. Go get ‘em all Daryl!
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve reached NBA nerds’ Christmas: the week of the trade deadline. The time between now and Thursday at 3:00 p.m., is when we see far more transactions than any other period of the NBA season. After months of preparation, teams across the league are finalizing crucial decisions: buy or sell? Trade or extend? Draft picks or cap space?
And, as always, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a tricky predicament. What they do this week is completely up in the air. Believe it or not, there’s even a world in which they don’t actually make any trades and stand pat with their current roster.
The bulk of this primer is always identifying and breaking down tons of trade targets. But before we get there, we have to address the actual rules of how trades can be facilitated.
Trade restrictions
The NBA has several rules preventing teams from finding certain loopholes within the trade market. Let’s quickly get through what restrictions the Sixers face:
The Sixers owe Brooklyn their 2023 and 2027 first-round picks. They also owe Oklahoma City their 2025 first-round pick. In addition to not being able to trade those picks, this means they cannot trade their 2024, 2026 or 2028 first-round picks due to the Stepien Rule, which prohibits a team from not having first-round picks in consecutive future drafts. So, the only first-round pick they have which is eligible to be traded is their 2029 first-round pick.
The Sixers also do not own any of their own second-round picks between this season and 2028, though they do own Charlotte’s second-round pick in 2023.
The financials
When hypothetical trade rumors come about, you’ll often hear about the money “matching.” That is because in NBA trades featuring two over-the-cap teams (almost every NBA team, including the Sixers, qualify as over-the-cap this season), there are guidelines for how these trades take place. The rule, in its most simple form, is as follows: the amount of salary that a team acquires in a trade must be close to the amount of salary that they are sending out.
So, for every player or package of players a team wants to move, there is only a certain amount of money they can take back. To save you from hearing more boring rules or needing a calculator, here is approximately how much money the Sixers can acquire in a trade for the three players who are most likely to be moved given their salaries and standings within the roster. There are other possible, more intriguing packages, of course, but with the Sixers locked into several key pieces, these are the most probable players to get dealt.
Furkan Korkmaz: $6,350,000
Matisse Thybulle: $5,574,409
Danuel House Jr.: $5,231,250
Korkmaz + Thybulle: $11,824,409
Korkmaz + House Jr.: $11,481,250
Thybulle + House Jr.: $10,705,659
Korkmaz + Thybulle + House Jr.: $16,955,659
So, while trades are always incredibly difficult to actually execute, the Sixers do have enough medium-sized salaries to facilitate a move. Keep these numbers in mind when it’s time to evaluate specific trade targets.
But there is another financial aspect of things that we must pay attention to: the Sixers are only $1.2M above the luxury tax line, where teams must pay additional taxes for having high-priced rosters. It absolutely stands to reason that the Sixers may hope to get under that threshold.
Trade targets
With that out of the way, let’s get to the part you all came here for: actual trade targets. This year, I identified 30 players across the NBA who could conceivably be dealt and fill a need for the Sixers.
They’ll be ranked from 30 to 1 -- who doesn’t love a list? -- based on the combination of their theoretical value to the Sixers and the extent to which they are realistic targets. The names will be increasingly interesting, you have my word.
#30: John Wall, Los Angeles Clippers (remaining contract: two years, $13.2M)
It felt like the entire basketball world was rooting for Wall to regain a semblance of his prior excellence. But unfortunately for Wall and the Clippers, it just hasn’t happened. Wall seems almost certain to be moved, but I don’t view him as a definite upgrade from Shake Milton at all.
#29: Frank Kaminsky, Atlanta Hawks (remaining contract: one year, $1.8M)
I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but the Sixers need a backup center, and they need one badly. Paul Reed’s development has hit a roadblock, and Montrezl Harrell’s minutes have been disastrous for most of the season. Kaminsky is not a household name by any means, but at least he is a legitimate seven-footer who can knock down threes. As unremarkable as he may be, Kaminsky could be the second-best natural center on the Sixers -- which says more about Reed and Harrell than anyone else.
#28: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Utah Jazz (remaining contract: one year, $5.0M, restricted free agent when contract ends)
Alexander-Walker, a tall and young guard, is the kind of player I generally gravitate towards, and one of several Jazz players believed to be available. He’s shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from beyond the arc, though the sample size is small.
#27: Justin Holiday, Atlanta Hawks (remaining contract: one year, $6.2M)
Holiday was a much more attractive trade target a few years ago than he is right now. The soon-to-be 34-year old wing, a former Sixer, has seen his role diminish this season. But this is a player just a few years removed from being a decent rotation wing with some defensive versatility.
#26: Dario Saric, Phoenix Suns (remaining contract: one year, $9.2M)
DARIOOOOOOO! Unfortunately, injuries have taken a toll on The Homie, who is far from the player he was during his last year and change as a Sixer. He is more of a center than a power forward at this point. Given his salary and his greatly-diminished impact, he probably won’t be moved unless the Suns are using his salary to help facilitate a bigger deal.
#25: Bryn Forbes, Minnesota Timberwolves (remaining contract: one year, $1.8M)
#24: Jordan McLaughlin, Minnesota Timberwolves (remaining contract: two years, $4.4M)
#23: Jaylen Nowell, Minnesota Timberwolves (remaining contract: one year, $1.9M)
These three Minnesota guards could all theoretically move. And they’re very different players: Nowell, the best of the three, is a natural scorer. Forbes makes his money being a terrific shooter off the catch and on the move. McLaughlin is a heady player who doesn’t have any eye-popping skills, but limits mistakes. The Wolves could use wing depth -- maybe they use their deep guard rotation to make that happen.
#22: Tony Bradley, Chicago Bulls (remaining contract: one year, $2.0M)
Another former Sixer! Bradley flashed serious potential towards the end of his brief Philadelphia tenure. He’s out of Chicago’s rotation entirely: if the Sixers front office still likes Bradley, they could view him as the easiest option to acquire.
#21: Rudy Gay, Utah Jazz (remaining contract: two years, $12.6M, 2023-24 player option)
Gay was known as a scorer in his prime, but despite injuries he was able to transform his game as he aged. Gay is 36 years old, and not someone you want to be too reliant on. But his offensive skill could make him an upgrade from Thybulle and House Jr. on the wing -- and if Georges Niang struggles in the playoffs again this season, he could slide up to the four, where he sees most of his minutes these days.
#20: Jaxson Hayes, New Orleans Pelicans (remaining contract: one year, $6.8M, restricted free agent when contract ends)
The conventional method for the Sixers at backup center is to acquire a more proven, stable veteran. But Hayes is stuck behind Jonas Valanciunas in New Orleans and may not be part of the Pelicans’ ambitious long-term plans. He is an outstanding athlete who has flirted with three-point shooting in the past. Hayes doesn’t block shots as much as you’d hope for from a player with his physical profile. But could playing alongside someone like James Harden get him closer to becoming the player many scouts envisioned him being?
#19: Chuma Okeke, Orlando Magic (remaining contract: two years, $8.7M, restricted free agent when contract ends)
Okeke, like almost every single player on the Magic, is a very tall and long wing. Okeke has been out since late December due to a knee injury, and it’s not the first knee injury he’s suffered. But again, the Sixers should be willing to take a risk with a younger player if they truly believe in them. Adding someone who could contribute down the stretch this season and in the future would be a boon.
#18: Bones Hyland, Denver Nuggets (remaining contract: three years, $8.6M, 2024-25 team option, restricted free agent when contract ends)
Hyland, an exciting score-first guard, seems like a lock to be given a change of scenery as the Nuggets seek someone who can help them compete for a championship this season. Hyland is quite small, but is legitimately a high-level shooter -- the kind of guy who will swing a few games in your favor a few times each year. In fact, Hyland did exactly that in Philadelphia last season, going crazy from deep in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets to victory. How he would fit into the Sixers’ already-crowded guard rotation, I do not know, hence him not being much closer to the top of the list.
#17: JaVale McGee, Dallas Mavericks (remaining contract: three years, $17.1M)
McGee was one of the best backup centers in the NBA last season playing for the Phoenix Suns. He capitalized on that season by getting a fully-guaranteed three-year deal from Dallas, accompanied by a promise that he would start at center. But since then, things have not gone as planned: McGee rarely sees playing time at all by now, and the Mavericks would certainly jump at the chance to shed his salary. If McGee can muster up a performance anything similar to his play in Phoenix, he would be an ideal backup center to pair with Harden, an excellent lob threat who knows how to screen and roll.
#16: Reggie Bullock, Dallas Mavericks (remaining contract: two years, $20.5M, $15.1M guaranteed)
Bullock has been linked to the Sixers several times during his career. And given the Mavericks trading Dorian Finney-Smith in their Kyrie Irving blockbuster deal, Bullock is likely to remain in Dallas. But if they want to shed his salary for any reason -- perhaps to set up another deal -- he would add reliable three-point shooting and competitive wing defense to the Sixers’ rotation.
#15: Zach Collins, San Antonio Spurs (remaining contract: two years, $15.0M, $7.3M guaranteed)
Collins has been plagued by injuries for most of his young career, but has settled into a nice role as San Antonio’s primary backup center. After a 10-game absence early in the season, Collins has played in 33 of the team’s last 34 games, averaging 21.3 minutes per game. Collins is a big body who can space the floor as a shooter. He could provide the Sixers with some useful floor spacing at center, and is another player who could conceivably log some power forward minutes next to Joel Embiid if Niang struggles or gets injured.
#14: Nerlens Noel, Detroit Pistons (remaining contract: two years, $18.9M, 2023-24 team option)
BRING NERLENS HOME! Since Daryl Morey took over the Sixers, the team has been linked to its former first-round pick on a few occasions. Out of Detroit’s regular rotation, Noel will likely find a new home soon. And why can’t that be Philadelphia? Noel’s catch radius as a lob threat makes him an ideal pick-and-roll partner for Harden, and his rim protection is light years better than that of someone like Harrell.
#13: Willy Hernangomez, New Orleans Pelicans (remaining contract: two years, $5.0M, $2.4M guaranteed)
Hernangomez, also part of New Orleans’ center rotation and a former Sixers draftee, has put up intriguing per-minute stats for quite a long time. Those numbers would almost certainly fall if he was asked to serve in a larger role -- but he doesn’t necessarily need to fill a large role in Philadelphia. If he can give the Sixers a very brief stint of competent play in each half of playoff games, they would be ecstatic. I think that’s a reasonable ask.
#12: Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers (remaining contract: two years, $14.1M, $7.4M guaranteed)
Osman is a player I’ve long thought would be an interesting Sixers acquisition. If the frequently-active Cavaliers attempt to remake their wing rotation and Osman becomes a casualty, the Sixers could do a lot worse. Osman is a high-volume, decent-efficiency three-point shooter who is posting a 59.5 true shooting percentage so far this season as of this writing, easily the best figure of his career.
#11: Malik Beasley, Utah Jazz (remaining contract: two years, $32.1M, 2023-24 team option)
Beasley is by far the most expensive player on this list. A nuclear-level shooter, he is taking more than eight three-point attempts per game for the third straight season, despite coming off the bench for the vast majority of that time. Sometimes teams need a decisive, unconscious shooter. Beasley fits that bill as well as anybody.
#10: Mike Muscala, Oklahoma City Thunder (remaining contract: two years, $7.0M, 2023-24 team option)
The prodigal son returns home! In all seriousness, forgetting about his Bubble game-winner that netted the Sixers the draft pick that became Tyrese Maxery, since his departure from the Sixers Muscala has become much more consistent. In his three-plus years in OKC, he has shot 9.4 threes per 36 minutes, an enormous number for a center, and has knocked them down at a 39.2 percent clip. Bits about his connection to Maxey and the infamous tweets once sent by his father aside, he is very much a reasonable backup center right now.
#9: Kelly Oubre Jr., Charlotte Hornets (remaining contract: one year, $12.6M)
Oubre Jr. was the very first player I identified as a potential Sixers target this season. He’s averaging more than 20 points per game this season as of this writing, but is doing so on below-average efficiency. However, being moved from a lowly Hornets team to one like the Sixers would put him back in a role he peaked in during his time with the Phoenix Suns: the Sixers would utilize him not as a lead scoring option, but as an athletic wing with a great frame who is not afraid to launch from deep.
#8: Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz (remaining contract: two years, $25.0M, $15.8M guaranteed)
What are the odds two players named Kelly would be ranked next to each other? What a world. Olynyk is one of the league’s best big-men shooters. He’s started in every game he’s played in for the surprisingly-competitive Jazz, knocking down just over 40 percent of his three-point tries this season. Additionally, Doc Rivers has long felt more comfortable with bigs who are capable passers. In recent years, Olynyk has shown that he is a tremendous passer relative to most guys his size. Olynyk could back up Embiid and be an option to play at the four in big lineups.
#7: Jae’Sean Tate, Houston Rockets (remaining contract: three years, $20.6M, 2024-25 team option)
Tate has missed more than two months this season due to unfortunate injury luck. But in his first two NBA seasons, he has established himself as a swiss-army knife on the defensive end, using his athleticism to become versatile in who he guards. Tate is a below-average shooter, similar to someone like Thybulle, but is more skilled in other offensive areas, especially passing -- Tate racks up far more assists than one would expect. If he is healthy, he is an upgrade over Thybulle.
#6: Amir Coffey, Los Angeles Clippers (remaining contract: three years, $11.0M)
Coffey is an intriguing prospect who has fallen victim to the Clippers’ perimeter depth. At 6-foot-7, Coffey is a capable defender also capable of knocking down open looks, providing doses of secondary creation and defending his position. He knocked down 38 percent of his threes in his first three NBA seasons. He’s been thrown for a loop a bit this season, but is another option who is intriguing beyond just the rest of this season. At 25 years old, he could be a long-term rotation piece for any team that acquires him.
#5: Gary Harris, Orlando Magic (remaining contract: two years, $26.0M, $13.0M guaranteed)
Used as salary filler in the deal that sent Aaron Gordon to Denver, Harris arrived in Orlando at his lowest point of value. Ever since, he’s been fantastic. Harris has gotten back to the version of himself that thrived for years with the Nuggets. He is a terrific defender of similarly-sized guards (Harris is listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds). In his two full seasons with the Magic, he has taken 4.7 three-point tries per game and knocked down 40.7 percent of those attempts -- including an incredible 46.5 percent three-point percentage so far this season. Harris would be a fantastic addition to this team, even if his arrival meant the team had to frequently use small lineups.
#4: Andre Drummond, Chicago Bulls (remaining contract: two years, $6.5M)
Drummond was nearly unanimously approved of during his brief Sixers tenure, whether by fans, front office executives, coaches or players. It was unfortunate that he had to be part of the Harden / Ben Simmons swap, particularly because of how well he would fit with the Sixers’ new lead ball-handler. Drummond has been Embiid’s best backup center to date, and if the struggling Bulls are willing to sell a few relatively minor pieces, the Sixers should be all over this.
#3: Josh Hart, Portland Trail Blazers (remaining contract: two years, $25.9M, 2023-24 player option)
Despite intending to contend for a playoff spot, the Blazers seem likely to move Hart, who has the chance to hit free agency after the season if he chooses to do so. I won’t pretend to have a good handle on what that contract might look like, but it doesn’t matter too much to me right now. Hart is undeniably a very good player, an ideal fourth or fifth starter who, if traded to the Sixers, would come off the bench alongside another starting-caliber player in Maxey. Hart has struggled from beyond the arc this season, but has been a passable shooter for most of his career. He is a tough and flexible defensive player who also happens to be one of the single best rebounders in the NBA among perimeter-oriented players -- amazingly averaging at least eight rebounds per game for the second time of his career, despite only being 6-foot-5. And, yes, I know, he went to Villanova.
#2: Jae Crowder, Phoenix Suns (remaining contract: one year, $10.1M)
Despite the Suns hoping to contend for a title again, they have allowed Crowder to stay home all season as they look for a place to trade him. He will certainly be moved somewhere, the only question is where that place will be. Why not Philadelphia? Crowder is the quintessential wing who fits around star players, which is what he has made most of his money doing. Crowder has been a pivotal part of two NBA Finals participants in the last few years, first with the Miami Heat in the Bubble and then with the Suns the following season. Crowder’s reputation has long been established by now: he is a tough, strong, hard-nosed defender capable of being tasked with the toughest of defensive assignments on the wing. He’s also a very willing three-point shooter. Crowder would be a massive upgrade from Thybulle and House Jr., and is another guy who can replace Niang’s backup power forward minutes if that becomes necessary.
#1: Jarred Vanderbilt, Utah Jazz (remaining contract: two years, $9.0M, $4.6M guaranteed)
I am all in on J-Vando. Vanderbilt, 23, seems increasingly likely to be moved this week. At 6-foot-9, Vanderbilt is not much of a shooter -- but he does just about everything else. He is a tremendous defensive player, both against wings and bigs. He can take difficult wing assignments deep into the playoffs while also being a secondary rim protector. His athletic tools are off the charts, he can bang down low on the glass, and he’s even become an interesting passer. My excitement about Vanderbilt as an option boils down to this: the two most obvious rotation spots worth upgrading on this team are the ones currently held by Harrell and Thybulle (with Reed and House Jr. waiting in the wings). Vanderbilt could realistically fill both of those roles. The cherry on top: Vanderbilt is already under contract for just $4.3M next year, and it would be realistic that the Sixers keep him long-term. And at that salary, he makes within $5K of Thybulle -- a deal surrounding those two seems easily-conceivable. This would be another player who helps the Sixers down the stretch this season and in the long run. He could plug multiple gaps in the Sixers’ playoff rotation at the same time, and I’m not sure a single other player on this list can say that. A playoff rotation of Harden, De’Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, Embiid, Maxey, Milton, Vanderbilt and perhaps Niang looks pretty damn good.
In conclusion
Across the league, it is expected that this will be a relatively active trade deadline week. But the Sixers may not have nearly as much up their collective sleeve as they often have in recent years. I’d be surprised if they added a major rotation player. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to duck the tax regardless of their other plans. But there are pathways to accomplishing those goals while improving the roster. Daryl and co., the ball is officially in your court.