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The Philadelphia 76ers were rewarded for one of the worst and unluckiest seasons imaginable with the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft when the lottery concluded. While the ping pong balls weren't quite kind enough to land Cooper Flagg, they did give Daryl Morey a top-tier asset to work with this offseason.
Philadelphia surely has no plans of going into a rebuild. With Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain returning from injury next season, this squad is likely just a move or two away from being a contender in the Eastern Conference when healthy. As a result, Morey and the rest of the 76ers' front office could look to move that pick along with Paul George to upgrade the roster.
The 76ers will be looking at stars on the trade market, even though it's unclear which ones may be available this offseason. However, Kevin Durant and Lauri Markkanen are two players that Philly could be targeting, according to Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.
“Some teams expect the Sixers to be active in trade conversations, with names such as Kevin Durant (Phoenix) and Lauri Markkanen (Utah) as potential targets in packages that could include Paul George and the No. 3 pick,” Givony and Woo wrote. “Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has made a career of being active and aggressive on the trade front, but historically, it's rare to see a top-three pick being traded.”
Any trade involving the third pick would be a big risk for the 76ers to take, as it would be a bet on a roster that has not been able to stay healthy in recent years. Embiid specifically has seen the injury concerns ratchet up over the last couple of seasons, so mortgaging the future to support this current version of the team is a big gamble.
On the other hand, adding another star such as Durant or Markkanen to a roster that already includes Embiid and a pair of promising young guards could easily make the 76ers into a contender in an Eastern Conference that will be in flux during the 2025-26 season.
