Philadelphia 76ers: 3 reasons to make a trade approaching deadline

3. Buyout market is unpredictable

Sure, it’s easy to say that the team should preserve its assets and wait for the buyout market to formulate. But what happened last season was an extremely rare occurrence.

For one thing, quality rotation players rarely become available for free. The Atlanta Hawks let Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova go because there weren’t enough suitors; that won’t happen again.

Fourteen Western Conference teams are within three games of a playoff spot. Eleven in the East are within two games. Who’s selling in that group?

That leaves the Phoenix Suns and the bottom four teams in the East to ship off their goods. With about 25 teams buying and five selling, there will be an imbalance, therefore lessening the chances of stones being left unturned.

For another thing, Belinelli and Ilyasova signed in Philly because of opportunity. The fact that they were the team’s top two backups entering last year’s playoffs sums up the team’s lack of depth. They signed with the team because they knew they would play.

A buyout addition would obviously play for the Sixers, but he wouldn’t be the sixth or seventh man. Those worthy of such a role will be traded for in a buyer’s market.