Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers were one of the busier teams during the 2024 NBA trade deadline. Undoubtedly Philadelphia's biggest move was acquiring sharp-shooting guard Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Marcus Morris Sr., Furkan Korkmaz, and three second-round picks. The 76ers later traded for Cam Payne from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Patrick Beverley. And just before the clock struck 3 PM ET last Thursday, they traded their 2021 first-round pick Jaden Springer to the Boston Celtics and landed a second-round pick.
Getting Hield was massive. Elite knockdown shooters have always thrived playing alongside Joel Embiid. The 31-year-old should produce efficiently in this Embiid-centric offense when he returns. But in the meantime, he should be able to put up numbers and play bigger minutes, just like he did in his first two games as a 76er, while the reigning MVP recovers from a knee injury.
However, their other moves were rather head scratchers when the trades went down. And while Morey explained his rationale for his decisions on Trade Deadline Day, the fact that he did business with arguably the 76ers' two fiercest competitions for the NBA championship this season is a grave mistake on his part.
Patrick Beverley trade to the Bucks
No question, getting a second-round pick for Patrick Beverley at this point of his career is a huge get. Add the fact that the 76ers were able to land Philly-native Kyle Lowry to essentially serve as an upgrade, that's essentially a win for them. But trading Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks, one of their top rivals this season just does not make sense.
To make matters worse, Beverley is exactly the guy the Bucks have been missing all season. He won't suddenly play massive role for them, but he addresses Milwaukee's glaring need for a pesky perimeter and strong point-of-attack defender. Giving a team that they could potentially face down the line in the playoffs what they need to improve could spell doom for Philadelphia's chances to win a championship this season.
During a session with the media, Morey explained the reason he traded Patrick Beverley was because he felt like his role on the team was diminishing. He also added that he traded Beverley to a situation where he could play a bigger role.
I understand Morey wanting to do right by Beverley, but this is the NBA. Philadelphia needs every advantage it can in the postseason and a huge disadvantage for the Bucks was their lackluster perimeter defense. And the 76ers just helped them address that with this trade.
Jaden Springer trade to the Celtics
Another huge error for the 76ers was trading Jaden Springer to the Boston Celtics for a second-round pick. Taken 28th overall in 2021, Springer hasn't quite panned out the way Philadelphia wanted him to. But the third-year guard is slowly beginning to find his footing for the 76ers over the last couple of weeks.
Springer's offense is still a work in progress, but through this stretch, he is already showing that he already provides value as a pesky and energetic perimeter defender. But as he explained during his presser, he viewed the second-round pick a as more vital piece for them in case they want to trade for an available veteran down the road.
“We had to look at, what are the odds Jaden Springer, who I think has a great future, helps our playoff rotation in the one, two, three-year horizon,” Morey said, via Sam DiGiovanni’s of ClutchPoints. “And what are the odds a second-round pick helps us? And we thought the second-round pick helped us more, and that’s just the reality. It allows us to maybe get a veteran at next year’s deadline, things like that.”
This little blurb from Morey did not help either. This could only add fuel to Springer's fire. The 21-year-old showed in his last two weeks in Philadelphia that he is a fierce competitor. If the 76ers and Celtics match up in the postseason and Springer gets a chance to play, you just know he will have these words from Morey on the back of his mind.
Final thoughts
Morey's thoughts on why he made these moves made some sense if we're looking at it from a roster-building perspective. But the fact that he traded them to a fellow contender in the same conference does not add up. Nonetheless, Morey did clarifiy his stance on making trades with a rival, which could potentially bite his team back in the rear end, should Beverley or Springer prove to be difference makers for their new respective squads in the postseason.
“I do think that comes into play when you're talking about your top few guys. I do think it matters then,” he said. “But when you get to a little farther down the roster, I don't think that should be a factor. I think you'll miss opportunities that will hurt you more than how those things. Now, we'll see. I mean, this is definitely a challenge trade. It'll be a fun one going forward.”
Only time will tell whether the 76ers made the right call on the Patrick Beverley and Jaden Springer trades at the deadline.
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