Philadelphia 76ers: 5 possible offseason trade targets for the Sixers

Al-Farouq Aminu (forward) Orlando Magic

Next, the Philadelphia 76ers could consider going after a player who is by no means flashy but provides a ton in his role. In this case, Al-Farouq Aminu would fit that bill. Aminu is expected to make around $9,720,900 next season, which would make him the sixth highest-paid player on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Before we get into Aminu’s value as a player, it is important to note that he did suffer a torn meniscus this season with the Orlando Magic. In fact, he had surgery on it back in January and was to be reevaluated 12 weeks later. Thankfully, the recovery time for those sorts of injuries is around 4-6 weeks. This could be a good sign, as plenty of players have come back from meniscus tears and been just fine.

As a player, Aminu provides two main things: 3-point shooting and solid defense. While he does not tear up the stat sheet, Aminu has shot an average 34.6 percent from three over the past four seasons. While Aminu’s defensive numbers do not raise eyebrows, netting a 0.7 defensive box plus/minus, Aminu is the kind of player who can put a body on guys and give them a hard time. For the Sixers, they need to find a guy who can provide that sort of pestering. Aminu could be that guy.

But, why would Orlando trade him? Well, the Magic have plenty of talent in the frontcourt. The likes of Nikola Vucevic, Mohamed Bamba, Jonathan Isaac, and Aaron Gordon have eaten up all the minutes there. As such, it would make sense for the Magic to want to move on from Aminu. Here, a package of Zhaire Smith and Mike Scott could be enough to get the job done.

Now, I want to preface that this move would primarily be two-fold. First, the Sixers would be able to clear up an additional roster spot that could go to an incoming rookie or a veteran on the minimum salary. Who that could end up being is still up in the air. The other reason would simply be that Aminu is a very capable stretch-4 who provides some quality defense. The Sixers need a guy like that off the bench given the current talent pool.