3 reasons the Philadelphia 76ers won’t make any NBA Trade Deadline moves

If not now, maybe in the future

All competitive teams this season should be doing whatever they can to strengthen leading up to the playoffs. In each conference, the field is wide open and a number of teams could come out victorious.

For the reasons we’ve discussed, though, the Sixers will not be making a huge splash. It won’t move the needle much for this season, which should be the primary focus for most teams even remotely in the playoff race.

At most, Philly will be making a small move for a player that could help the team improve marginally, and even that may be difficult to make happen unless the team is willing to let a draft pick go.

If the team falls short of a Finals appearance this year, considerable changes could be on the horizon. Brett Brown’s job could be on the line. While I think it’s premature to even speculate about the future of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as Sixers, the team might even be wise to toss around the idea of seeing what they could get in return for either player to restructure their roster and approach for 2020-21.

If that is the case, the Philadelphia 76ers may want to have as many pieces as possible — pieces they may need to include in a trade for an expiring player this year — to help make the money work on a deal that moves them into the next chapter.

While future plans should be a secondary concern of the Sixers and Elton Brand at the trade deadline, it’s worth considering how future plans will be impacted by transactions prior to Thursday. After that, consider that a deal will be hard to complete and might be easier to fix by simply making do and looking for the true source of the road issues.

The Sixers, if they make a trade, need something that’s going to do more than just push along the margins. A significant trade won’t even be possible given the nature of the team’s payroll. Some expect Philly to buzz at the deadline. Buzz they might, but I’m expecting little to no action.