After a week of anticipation and waiting ahead of the NBA's trade deadline on Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers have made a pair of moves. After trading for Golden State Warriors wings Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks, on Thursday the Sixers are trading small forward James Ennis to the Orlando Magic for a second-round pick, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Sixers have been starving for better perimeter play since the beginning of the 2019-20 season to help augment the deficiency from outside All-Star point-forward Ben Simmons presents. The additions of Robinson and Burks from the Warriors should help the Atlantic Division club hell-bent on coming out of the Eastern Conference on top.
At last year's trade deadline, though, the Sixers traded former first-overall pick Markelle Fultz to the same club, the Magic, and now the ex-Washington Huskies point guard is thriving in a new environment, much to the dismay of Philly.
In exchange for Robinson and Burks, the Sixers intend to send three future second-round picks. Given the addition of two more players, sending Ennis to Orlando was necessary to fit the two new players on Philly's roster.
There is still skepticism Simmons, fellow All-Star in center Joel Embiid, and the Sixers can compete with the top Eastern Conference teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors—the latter of whom defeated them in seven games in the conference semi-finals in 2019.
While the Raptors lost Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and shooting guard Danny Green in the offseason, Most Improved Player in forward Pascal Siakam looks strong as the entire Toronto team has improved as a whole.
The Sixers will have to show what they're worth post-trade deadline with the additional shooting and star talent.
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