The Eastern Conference of the past few years, where just a handful of teams can reasonably expect to make a deep playoff run, is just that: a thing of the past. There are more legitimate threats and there are young, hungry teams with the capacity to turn things upside down. Before the 2024 NBA trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers have to make a move that better equips them for the rough postseason terrain that lies ahead.

It's hard for any team to come out of the trade deadline with the perfect piece. At full strength, the Sixers have a great thing going and, for the second time this season, will have to readjust its rotations and incorporate a new player(s). But with the level that Embiid is playing at right now, there’s no excuse not to go for it this season. So long as he can play, the front office must do what it can to put the best team possible around him.

The 76ers' current roster can be upgraded in a variety of ways but one stands out as the most pressing when it comes to fortifying the roster for the playoffs. They would be best suited to find a player who can be a sizable boost for their offense.

76ers should look for a creator/shooter at the 2024 NBA trade deadline

The 76ers offense as presently constructed probably won’t cut it in the playoffs. It's a funny angle to observe the team with the sixth-best offensive rating in the league but Philly will simply need more scoring talent around Embiid, who accounts for a lion's share of his team's offensive proficiency. His usage percentage is just south of 39 percent, which ranks first this season by a big margin and is the third-highest in a single season in NBA history. Philly can win with such a high-usage cornerstone. But it still needs an optimal supporting cast.

While adding some defensive reinforcements couldn’t hurt, the 76ers with Embiid have historically held up fine in the playoffs on defense. That’s largely thanks to the big fella himself, whose presence in the paint scares off opponents looking to drive. Forcing harder looks from the most efficient space on the floor is typically a recipe for success. It's the other end of the floor where Embiid-led teams have come up short, though there is already hope that he will be able to execute better on that end.

Embiid has continued to improve as a playmaker, mainly by getting caught in double-teams less often. Since Nick Nurse has installed more off-ball motion into the 76ers offense, it's tougher for defenses to double him, anyway. Nonetheless, Philly is running the risk it did last season of relying too heavily on its pair of stars — and this year's team doesn’t even have a third option as good as last year's Maxey.

As good as Embiid and Maxey are, they could use one more highly skilled cook in the kitchen.

The 76ers could use help alongside Maxey, Embiid

Although Maxey is capable of being the Sixers' second option, taking the ball out of his hands here and there is not a bad thing. As good as he is with the ball, he's too good of a shooter and attacker of closeouts to not get those chances throughout games. Having someone else he can lean on aside from Embiid will be very helpful in unlocking even more wrinkles in an already sharp offense.

Even in a new role where his involvement on the ball has grown immensely, the corner three is still the shot where Maxey shines the most. After shooting 57 percent on shots from that area two seasons ago and 51 percent last year, he's up to a whopping 60 percent on those shots this season. Those looks where he’s immensely efficient become extinct the more Maxey has to run the offense. Philly has one of the best off-ball threats in all of basketball but doesn’t get to flaunt those skills because he has to run the show so often.

Overall, Maxey's production has been slipping. Each month of the season, his points-per-game average, field goal percentage and true shooting percentage have declined and his turnovers have gone up. The grind of being a premier option is taking a toll. The 76ers need to give him a co-creator on the perimeter so he can get easier looks and shoulder less of a burden.

If the potential addition is a guard who doesn’t have the reputation of a stud defender, there are bound to be questions about the fit on defense next to Maxey. But the guard would be taking the place of De'Anthony Melton, a fine player who is easily replaceable with someone bigger and more skilled with the ball. For as solid as Melton is on defense, he's an undersized wing who the 76ers don’t match up with the best opposing guard. Not only is he easy to replace in the starting lineup but he is probably better suited for a high-minutes bench role anyway.

Creators on offense come in all shapes and sizes. The ones that the 76ers need the most are those who can also serve a purpose off the ball — a.k.a., someone who can space the floor and generate more advantages out of the ones Embiid and Maxey already create.

Dejounte Murray has been linked to the 76ers over the past weeks, though a move of that magnitude has been floated as less likely. The Atlanta Hawks' two-way guard could take some pressure off of Embiid and Maxey and has greatly improved his three-point shooting. Should he continue on that trajectory and reduce his redundancy with Embiid by taking fewer mid-range shots, he has the potential to be a big addition.

Bojan Bogdanovic buzz 

Bojan Bogdanovic is a fantastic three-point shooter who can’t even be held back by the miserable Detroit Pistons. The 6-foot-7, 34-year-old forward is the type of high-volume shooter that can elevate the 76ers offense on top of being a shot-creator who can bail out the offense in a pinch. While not the defender he once was, he should be plenty capable of holding his own as a team defender.

Bogdan Bogdanovic lets threes fly at a tremendous volume, too. The Hawks guard can also put it on the deck and score. The space he would have opposite Embiid and Maxey would make him much more dangerous. Indiana Pacers wing Buddy Hield makes sense for this reason, too, though Bogie can do more for himself than Buddy can on top of being much more familiar with the playoffs.

Guys like D'Angelo Russell and Malcolm Brogdon are strong perimeter shooters who can handle the ball and score decently inside the arc. But both players' viability in the playoffs is questionable. They each have some playmaking talent to tap into but they both each tend to be ball-stoppers. Neither is a sterling defender, either. Yet they still could be of service to Philly.

As much as the 76ers do need someone who can generate offense, that player (or players) also needs to be able to hold up defensively in a playoff setting. The best course of action is to find someone who can create offense and then add balance with an addition like Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale, or Alex Caruso (if they’re really lucky). But the trade market is rarely one to offer a team exactly what it wants.

The 76ers have continuously indicated they’re cool with leaning on their offseason flexibility and cap space to make a big move. Whether that is more of a set-in-stone vision for building the team or a leverage ploy to get an ideal price in a trade will be proven in the coming days. While this may not be their very last chance to compete for a championship, it's hard to imagine them having others as good as this one. They must make improvements to the roster, none more urgently than another source of offense.