The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away. The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the presumptive buyers at the February 8 deadline. But of the pieces they may buy, a third star around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey seems unlikely.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said in a Q&A on Threads that the 76ers are more likely to seek upgrades to the infrastructure they have rather than try to land a star.
Woj's post reads as follows: “Daryl Morey is ALWAYS big-game hunting, but…I think it’s more likely some upgrades on the margins. Philly is in great position in the offseason to make some more dramatic upgrades, because of their impending salary cap space, some valuable draft picks and a lineup with Embiid and Maxey that good players would certainly love to join.”
The 76ers have numerous expiring contracts of various sizes and some first-round draft picks they can trade. Those are some high-quality ingredients to make a big move. But Woj's nugget of info indicates that the bigger move could come this offseason, which is in line with other rumors surrounding the Eastern Conference's third seed.
Woj dropped another tidbit that could be of relevance to the 76ers: the Atlanta Hawks are bound to be major sellers at the deadline.
“I think the Hawks are open to ALMOST anything at the trade deadline, but there’s no question that they’ve gone as far as they’ll probably go on Dejounte Murray’s pairing with Trae Young in the backcourt,” Woj wrote in his post. “They’re talking Murray deals – and others – throughout the league.”
The 76ers have been previously noted to have an interest in Murray, who possesses a two-way style of play Philly has a preference for. With sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic and 3-and-D wings De'Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey also on the block, Philly may instead pick up a player or two from Atlanta.
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