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Philadelphia 76ers: 3 trades team should make before deadline

By Simon Smith

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 19: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Center on November 19, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 19: Jimmy Butler #23 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on against the Phoenix Suns at the Wells Fargo Center on November 19, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With the Philadelphia 76ers seemingly not living up to preseason expectations, here are three teams they should make prior to the 2019 NBA Trade Deadline.

Entering the 2018-19 season, the Philadelphia 76ers were hyped as one of the most fascinating teams in the league.

Ranked behind only the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors with 39 nationally televised games, the Sixers’ emerging duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons demonstrated throughout the 2017-18 just how dangerous this Sixers team could be moving forward.

However, despite their 52-win season followed by a trip to the second round of the postseason, things haven’t gone as planned to this point.

Firstly, they stumbled out of the blocks to an 8-5 start, to which the Sixers’ front office quickly responded by dealing frontcourt duo Robert Covington and Dario Saric in exchange for All-Star Jimmy Butler.

On the surface, this deal seemed like a no-brainer. Adding a four-time All-Star to the mix alongside the undoubted talents of Embiid and Butler would provide the perfect tonic to take the Sixers to the next level.

However, while its been a relatively small sample size, the fit doesn’t appear to have panned out as the Sixers would’ve hoped. In 23 games together, the Embiid-Simmons-Butler trio has posted a meager +1.0 net rating, which ranks last among the Sixers’ 12 three-man lineups that have played at least 300 minutes since Butler’s arrival. With Simmons’ reluctance and inability to shoot from the perimeter, and Butler’s need for the ball in his hands, having three co-stars with overlapping attributes has not been a great recipe.

Then you throw in the recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN in covering Butler’s displeasure with his role in the offense and it’s rather evident the Sixers loom as a potentially big player in the trade market prior to the Feb. 8 deadline. Furthermore, on a recent Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast, Shelburne wouldn’t rule out the Sixers trading Butler despite only recently acquiring him:

"“I would say there’s a chance [he gets traded]….I think you have to be almost operating on parallel tracks if you’re the Sixers. You have to be operating on this track where they figure it all out and he does well and they have a good playoff run and then you re-sign him. But you also absolutely have to be considering [moving him], I think it would be absolutely foolish not to.”"

Given these uncertainties, there’s sure to be plenty of noise as the countdown to the trade deadline gathers speed. With this in mind, here are three trades the Sixers should consider prior to Feb. 7.