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Brett Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers are all-in. After sacrificing key depth and long-term spending flexibility to acquire Jimmy Butler in November, general manager Elton Brand doubled down on that win-now mentality at the trade deadline.
Tobias Harris fills a major need for Philadelphia at power forward, and should in theory be able to scale back the primary-scoring role he occupied with the Los Angeles Clippers to emerge as a cog in his new team's star-laden attack. But Harris, like Butler, is a free agent at season's end, and the Sixers sent two future first-round picks – one of which is owned by the Miami Heat and completely unprotected – to the Clippers, in addition to promising rookie Landry Shamet.
Is it championship or bust for Philadelphia, then? Brett Brown wouldn't go that far, but he made it clear on Friday that the new-look Sixers do indeed have one goal in mind.
Brett Brown says he would “feel borderline cowardly” to say their goal is anything but the NBA Finals, even with other teams in the East making deadline upgrades
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 8, 2019
Philadelphia, fifth-place in the Eastern Conference at 34-20, stood taller with respect to contending peers than their unimpressive place in the standings suggests even before dealing for Harris. The Sixers are a half game behind the Boston Celtics and one-and-a-half games behind the Indiana Pacers, who figure to move down the standings toward season's end due to Victor Oladipo's recent season-ending injury.
Though the trade with Los Angeles was about Harris' inclusion first and foremost, it would be remiss to ignore that Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic were also sent to Phialdelphia in the deal. The team also acquired Jonathon Simmons from the Orlando Magic in a trade for former number one overall pick Markelle Fultz. Brand is undoubtedly working the phones to assess potential buy-out candidates, too, many of whom would surely be interested in chasing a title with the Sixers.
Depth was never going to be Philadelphia's strength – not after the Butler trade. But by acquiring Harris and three other rotation pieces on Thursday, with one or two more still likely to come, the Sixers certainly increased their odds to emerge from the top of the Eastern Conference crowd, a reality that Brown's confidence supports.
