Tag: nba-rumors-news

2024 NBA free agency: Report: Former Sixer Tobias Harris to sign two-year deal with Pistons nba,free,agency,report,former,sixer,tobias,harris,to,sign,two,year,deal,with,pistons,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,nba-rumors-news

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If you’re not excited about the Paul George signing because of concerns about how the contract will look a few years down the road, or just because the Philadelphia 76ers have hurt you too many times in the past, let me illustrate how much worse things could be.

Your franchise could owe $65 million to someone not to coach the team.

The team could have won no more than 23 games in any of the past five seasons, but picked no higher than fifth overall in any of the past three drafts.

Your team could have just signed Tobias Harris for two years, $52 million.

Sorry, Detroit Pistons fans.

Of note, the second year is fully guaranteed with no option.

For a long time, Tobias Harris ending up in Detroit was a running joke here at Liberty Ballers and seemed set in stone. But when the franchise parted ways with general manager Troy Weaver at the end of May and hired Trajan Langdon, I really thought that ship sailed. Now, the thinking was, they would assuredly be wiser with the cap space. Langdon even said the right things about using it to take on unwanted contracts to acquire assets. The trade to bring in Tim Hardaway Jr. from Dallas in exchange for three second-round picks seemed like a step in that direction, although if you are high on Quentin Grimes you still may not have liked the trade. Unfortunately for Pistons fans, the Harris connection to Detroit, where he previously played parts of three seasons, remained too strong.

I mean, who was really bidding against Detroit here for Tobias that could offer $26 million per year? Utah’s Danny Ainge is too smart for something like this. At the very least, how do you not make the second year a team option so it could be viewed as essentially a potentially useful, large expiring contract at the trade deadline, should you desire?

To look at the other side for a moment, Harris is a good locker room presence. I’m sure there’s some value in his teaching the young guys how a 401(k) works and starting a book club. He’s also durable, having played in at least 70 games in each of the last nine seasons (excepting the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season). He’ll probably average 18 per game with decent percentages and there will be some analytic showing Tobias is worth the money that Torrel Harris can use for his powerpoint presentation the next time a contract negotiation rolls around.

But as anyone who watched the Sixers in recent years knows, for every 25-point game Harris has, there will be a few where he’s just out there getting cardio (and not even hard cardio, but the sort of cardio where you’re interested in paying attention to the ball game that’s on the treadmill so you set it to 70 percent speed). Tobias may be able to teach the young guys some good lessons off the court, but he’s teaching them on the court that you can go five years without drawing a charge (officially) or grabbing a contested loose ball (unofficially, but I’m sure there weren’t many), and still get paid.

I hold no personal animosity towards Tobias Harris and I’m sure some of that money will generously go towards worthwhile charitable endeavors. But, I sure am glad to be out of the Tobias Harris business and I’m shocked that another franchise was this eager to sign up for it.

Paul George-Sixers free agency rumor tracker: Where will the nine-time All-Star end up? paul,george,sixers,free,agency,rumor,tracker,where,will,the,nine,time,all,star,end,up,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-free-agency,76ers-analysis,76ers-free-agency-rumors-news,nba-rumors-news

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Buckle up Sixers’ fans.

Paul George has opted out of his $48.7M player option and is set to take some meetings this weekend. What the SoCal native decides to ultimately do next will begin a chain of dominoes around the NBA. Reports indicate he will meet with the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers sometime after 6 p.m. Sunday once rival teams can make their pitches to UFAs.

Teams like the Sixers and Magic can offer George up to $212M on a four-year deal. Because of the NBA’s over 38 rule, the Clippers can only offer him up to a max salary beginning in the same range, although L.A. — possessing PG’s Bird Rights — can offer 8 percent raises increasing the total to $221M. But they don’t seem to have any interest in even offering him a fourth year so far. Whether or not that’s a bluff and they’ll cave to his demands is yet to be determined.

Players like Klay Thompson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DeMar DeRozan and a handful of multi-billion dollar franchises’ fates hang in the balance of what’s the 2024 summer version of “The Decision.”

George was rumored to be considering an extension with the Clippers at multiple points during this season and offseason. More recently, we also learned that he was considering opting in and seeking a trade. Well, neither of those materialized, and perhaps Daryl Morey and the Sixers’ $60M in cap space might have appeal, along with stars in place like Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Here we’ll track some of the latest rumors before he makes his big decision.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, appearing on Sports Center:

Per Woj:

“Paul George has had a year to negotiate a deal with the Clippers that he wants to take and they’ve gone back and forth, certainly in the last several months…. He wants that fourth year on his contract, the Clippers have not offered it. And certainly he’s looking at that Clipper roster and asking himself too ‘are we a championship contender?’ All other factors. I think being in Southern California and being part of the Clippers as they go into the new Intuit Dome, I think those are things that are still very appealing to him but Philadelphia out in the marketplace, Orlando to an extent out in the marketplace for him, can offer him that fourth year. And Philadelphia certainly. Is there a clear path in the Eastern Conference to try to win? Although you still have to be able to go through Boston and Philly sees Paul George as a player that can help them get through the Celtics.”

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, there is more than a bit of room for optimism here.

Per Pompey:

“Sources believe Philly is the frontrunner to acquire the 6-foot-8, 220-pounder. However, the Orlando Magic, another potential destination, cleared up available cap space to offer the max. And you have to wonder if he’ll remain in Los Angeles if the Clippers give into his demands for a fourth year….If he comes to Philly, sources believe George will help recruit solid role players for the Sixers’ pursuit of an NBA championship-caliber roster.”

If the Sixers whiff on PG, they may continue to look at names above like KCP and Klay as free agents, although Thompson has now been connected with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Pompey adds that Brandon Ingram is another possibility via trade:

“But the Pelicans are “unlikely” to offer a maximum salary and will look to trade him if no deal is reached. However, their asking price has been steep.”

The problem there is that Ingram isn’t as good as George, and would cost them significant draft capital to acquire. What more they can add with those picks should PG sign into Philly’s cap space will definitely be part of Daryl Morey’s pitch to George this weekend.

Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report thinks the Sixers are a legitimate threat in this race.

Monte Poole with NBCS, who covers the Golden State Warriors, believes the Clippers still have the inside track here.

With this much interest around the NBA, I can’t help but wonder if the Clippers don’t find SOME number in between their current three-year bid and the four-year max Philly and Orlando will likely offer — ultimately retaining PG.

Heck, the Clippers could always sign him and then turn around and try to trade him before February’s 2025 NBA Trade Deadline in exchange for some draft picks and maybe a young player or an expiring contract at least then, right? That all seems better than nothing. But then again, maybe PG would remember what happened once to Blake Griffin (signing a max then quickly getting shipped off to Detroit) and worry he’d later land somewhere far less preferable than Philadelphia and their live title aspirations.

If I were PG, weather, and family aside, I’d head to the Sixers. He’s already considered one of the best to ever do it. A championship ring on his finger would vault him way up that all-time ladder, and since Morey would still have up to four first-round picks to play around with, this would be his best chance to get there, in our biased opinion.

Game on.

We will continue to update this post as news develops over what’s set to become a landmark weekend for the Joel Embiid era.

Pelicans trade for Hawks’ Dejounte Murray; what’s next for possible Sixers’ target Brandon Ingram? pelicans,trade,for,hawks,dejounte,murray,what,s,next,for,possible,sixers,target,brandon,ingram,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-analysis,nba-rumors-news

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Just days after the 2024 NBA Draft, and days before the free agency period, the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Pelicans have made a big trade.

After two seasons, the Hawks are pulling the plug on the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt. And the New Orleans Pelicans have swooped in, sending out draft capital and Larry Nance Jr. in exchange for the former Spurs’ 2022 All-Star, Murray.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the story in bits and pieces on X: “Full trade on ESPN: Dejounte Murray for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, 2025 first-round pick (via Lakers), 2027 first-round pick (least favorable of Bucks-Pels),” Woj reported.

In a follow up tweet, Woj added:

“New Orleans was 0-24 when trailing entering the fourth and 2-14 in close games and see Murray as a player who can generate offense late in games. Pels remain committed to core that includes Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum. Pels are trying to find common ground with Brandon Ingram contract.”

Woj said there is still more work to be done in Atlanta, remaking the young core in place there. Is Nance Jr. now a name the Sixers could eye? Daryl Morey and co. once showed some interest in acquiring the versatile and bouncy forward back in 2021.

But it’s that last line from Woj above about Ingram that will likely have most Sixer fans attention… will the Pelicans ultimately find common ground on a new extension with Ingram? I think most insiders would still guess that Ingram will be traded and not wind up extending with the team who traded for him five years ago in the Anthony Davis Lakers’ blockbuster. But this certainly gives them a bit more optionality.

PG has things on hold for at least another handful of hours

Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, speaking earlier Friday on ESPN’s “Get UP:”

“[The Sixers] have the most cap space out there, around $60M. They are obviously interested in signing Paul George. They have to hold their other business, their other free agent aspirations, until they see what Paul George’s decision is. That decision could come [Friday or Saturday] it may not be into free agency.”

So the Sixers may have real interest in trading for Brandon Ingram here. We’ve heard that he’s atop some of their fallback plan options in the past. But Daryl Morey and Co. likely won’t want to part with the precious draft assets for Ingram (they can still trade up to four first-rounders following their selection of Jared McCain Wednesday) until they know where they stand with PG.

Signing PG into Philadelphia’s cap space for a $212M max four-year deal would not only allow them to acquire a player more feared by defenders and scorers than Ingram, but additionally retain their significant draft haul to target even more help via trade between July and February’s 2025 NBA Trade Deadline.

But in the more likely event that PG remains on the West Coast, this big move by the Pelicans should:

  • probably signify a willingness-acceptance to move on from Ingram without any positional needs (the good part) and
  • give them more leverage in a potential deal — since their own fans will likely want to see how the current core looks together (the bad part).

Ingram has never played more than 64 games for the Peli’s in a single season, but the 26-year-old can create his own shot, pass, draw free throws, space the floor and knock down triples at a respectable clip.

We’re all waiting to see what happens with George. And before that, we’re keeping a close watch on names like Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins, to see if the Warriors can find a way to thwart Morey’s plans just like the Clippers would love to do.

But New Orleans making a move like this could certainly be interpreted as a team that has accepted the very real possibility of moving on from the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and 2020 All-Star.

Earlier Friday, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer wondered if three first-round picks might be enough for Morey to land Ingram.

Could the Murray deal, sending out two picks, increase NOLA’s appetite to restock their future draft coffers? Or does GM David Griffin think they can work something out to keep BI around, having now added one more key piece to this Pelican puzzle?

Woj’s wording that New Orleans remains committed to Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum is probably the most interesting nugget from the Sixers’ POV. Keep watching that clock to see what Paul George does… he has until Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern to make up his mind. Because Woj did not say they’re fully committed to building around BI, and Murray’s presence may be further evidence they’re ready for a retool. I wonder if B-Ball Paul Reed might appeal to them now that Nance Jr. is in Hotlanta. I guess they could use a low-priced athletic big.

Finally, the Hawks, still owe unprotected picks in 2025 and 2027 plus a swap to the Spurs San Antonio from the 2022 trade when they landed Murray. The Hawks may be thinking fire-sale if Morey wants to place a call and offer future draft ammo there too. Names like Trae Young, De’Andre Huter, Bogdan Bogdanović, Onyeka Okongwu, could all be left wondering about their future now as well.

2024 NBA free agency: Knicks lock in core by reportedly re-signing OG Anunoby nba,free,agency,knicks,lock,in,core,by,reportedly,re,signing,og,anunoby,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-rumors-news

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Well, the Sixers’ options for high-level wing players are dropping like flies.

Less than 24 hours after trading just about every possible first-round pick for Mikal Bridges, the New York Knicks bolstered up their squad by re-signing wing OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million dollar extension, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This doesn’t come as a huge shock, as many reports in the past few days pointed to Anunoby’s return to the team that acquired him at the trade deadline. The Knicks taking a week once the season ended to get this extension done — and their hesitancy to give him a fifth year and over $40 million per year — had some believing he may look elsewhere.

The Sixers were one of the team’s rumored to be interested in Anunoby’s services.Whether they had much of a chance to sign him is another thing. SNY’s Ian Begley reported that Anunoby received max offers from other teams but chose to stay with the Knicks.

It locks the Knicks into this core. After this signing and the Bridges trade, they are essentially all tapped out of assets.

The Sixers on the other hand, remain with all their cap space in place, and they don’t have to worry about paying $42 million a year to a player who’s never made an All-Star game and has nagging injury concerns every season. They will have to field a team at some point though, and time and players are running out.

New York Knicks acquire Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges in blockbuster trade ahead of NBA Draft, free agency new,york,knicks,acquire,brooklyn,nets,mikal,bridges,in,blockbuster,trade,ahead,of,nba,draft,free,agency,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-analysis,nba-rumors-news

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Boom. In the quiet, with less than 24 hours before the start of Wednesday’s 2024 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks have pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Knicks are shipping out four future unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, an unprotected swap, a second-rounder and Bojan Bogdanovic for Mikal Bridges.

In a follow up tweet, Woj added: “The Knicks pay a steep price to land one of the league’s most coveted trade assets and the Nets get a massive haul to replenish assets and embark on a rebuild with mass cap space and future draft picks.”

With Jalen Brunson, fresh off his first All-Star bid, the All-NBA Second team, and having finished fourth in MVP voting, along with Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, Bridges will now round out the Villanova Knicks.

The Nets once depleted their draft warchest for James Harden, who they then traded for Ben Simmons back in 2022. So this allows Brooklyn, who has reportedly turned down numerous other offers for the quintessential 3-and-D stud in the past, to restock and then some.

The next major question for the Knicks is what this could mean, if anything, for OG Anunoby’s future?

The former Raptor recently opted out of his one-year player option. And all insiders seem to agree that he’s all but certain to re-sign in New York. Would adding Bridges, someone who essentially plays the same small forward position as OG, change the equation? Could this be a form of “insurance” should Anunoby somehow walk? There have at least been rumors that OG’s camp was not satisfied with the extension offers he received from Knicks’ President Leon Rose — fueling rumors out of Philadelphia, a team named by numerous sources as having interest.

But there is still plenty of room to keep him around in New York if they trim in other places.

According to Yossi Gozlan, previously with Hoops Hype, the Knicks are now hard-capped yet could still theoretically retain both Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Where would they cut costs then? We’ve already seen rumors that Mitchell Robinson could be on the move, with the Wizards being one team named.

Another former All-NBA Second Teamer, Julius Randle, also has a hefty salary, and should offer back some value if the Knicks looked to move the former Lakers and Pelicans power forward too. If they truly want to avoid the hard cap, then it makes sense why SNY’s Ian Begley had this to add:

As far as the Sixers are concerned, well, you can figure out the bad news rather quickly. Not only does Bridges’ name go off the trade market, he lands with the very team that just knocked Joel Embiid and the squad out of the playoffs back in May.

In many ways, Mikal would have made a perfect fit playing alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey — and it doesn’t make things any easier to swallow remembering the Sixers once drafted the rangy wing before quickly trading him on Draft Day 2018.

As for Paul George? Well, the Knicks were one team that had been rumored to potentially have interest in PG should the nine-time All-Star opt in to his one-year player option. Brian Windhorst, Marc Stein and other reporters had previously named the Knicks as a team to watch should the Clippers’ former All-NBA forward pass up the chance to hit free agency — where Daryl Morey and the Sixers would almost certainly have a $212M max four-year deal waiting for the Palmdale native… assuming they don’t surprise us between now and July 1 like the Knicks just did.

With this move, George may lose one option he may have had in an opt-in and trade scenario. That is likely the one part of this move that Morey will — at least momentarily — enjoy. But the Golden State Warriors have already been named as another team to keep close watch on if PG doesn’t wind up hitting free agency but rather seeking trade from his native L.A.

The Athletic’s Fred Katz has been reminding fans that Anunoby is likely re-signing with the Knicks. And with this news bomb, Katz doesn’t appear to be changing his tune much:

Same goes for SNY’s Ian Begley:

If the Knicks really started to feel a cap crunch, in the instance they do keep Anunoby on a deal somewhere in the (rumored) $35M annual-range, perhaps Hartenstein would ultimately become New York’s casualty of this Bridges blockbuster.

The Nets were not done either.

More fro Woj on X:

“Another massive deal: Brooklyn has a deal with Houston to return the Nets’ 2026 first-round pick for a 2027 Phoenix Suns first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Rockets also acquire 2025 right to swap Houston/OKC first for 2025 Suns first-round pick. More details coming on picks deal.”

So not only do the Nets “make up” for some of the picks they lost in that Harden deal by moving Bridges to the Knicks, they recouped some of their own picks they once moved in 2020-2021.

That means… wait for it… you guessed it… the Nets can finally tank and “improve” their own picks — something they couldn’t do back when the Boston Celtics possessed Brooklyn’s lottery picks — helping Danny Ainge and subsequent execs like Brad Stevens begin building the current 2024 champs back in 2016.

On the Rockets side of things, Woj had this to add:

So now Morey and co. can keep watching the clock hoping that there isn’t a news bomb that PG has opted in; unless of course the Sixers have one of these shockers brewing themselves.

And oh right, maybe Kevin Durant could be available too, I guess? Add Durant to your wish list along with PG, Jimmy Butler, Anunoby and Brandon Ingram.

Must be nice….

Report: Former Sixer JJ Redick agrees to deal to become Lakers’ head coach report,former,sixer,jj,redick,agrees,to,deal,to,become,lakers,head,coach,liberty,ballers,front-page,nba-rumors-news

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The Lakers’ head coach hunt has been a long and somewhat messy process. After their top target, Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley, turned down their massive six-year, $70 million offer, the Lakers have had to shift their focus to other candidates.

Now, the candidate who’s frequently popped up in rumors connected to the team has finally been confirmed as their new hire. Former Sixers guard and current ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick has agreed to a four-year deal to become the Lakers’ head coach, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Redick’s always been a high-IQ player, and has demonstrated his impressive understanding of the game ever since he’s gotten into podcasting and working as an analyst. Taking over as Lakers head coach without any previous assistant experience is obviously a massive gig for someone’s very first coaching job, but it’s clear how highly he’s regarded around the NBA. It’ll be interesting to see how he leads the team and what staff L.A. assembles around him.

While this hire doesn’t really affect the Sixers, it probably cools off the fun (albeit fairly unlikely) theory that LeBron James could potentially head elsewhere in free agency and maybe even land up in Philadelphia. LeBron obviously has a good relationship with Redick, someone he’s friends with and they co-host their Mind the Game podcast together.

The most realistic major target for the Sixers this offseason remains Paul George, and our David Early has all the latest rumors rounded up right here.

Report: New Orleans Pelicans contacted Sixers to discuss a Brandon Ingram trade report,new,orleans,pelicans,contacted,sixers,to,discuss,a,brandon,ingram,trade,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-news,76ers-trade-rumors,nba-rumors-news

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The Sixers’ offseason flexibility has had them tied to numerous big names — Paul George, LeBron James and Jimmy Butler. Along with these stars, Brandon Ingram was linked as a potential trade option if they were to strike out in free agency. We now have news that the New Orleans Pelicans have reached out to the Sixers regarding Ingram.

The Athletic’s Kelly Iko had the latest scoop on Ingram, along with other Houston-centric storylines in his latest draft notebook:

“…New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram was mentioned as a player seen in a lower tier than Mitchell and in recent days, rumors have swirled about the Pelicans dangling Ingram in trade talks and in one iteration, a hypothetical Ingram-for-Alperen Şengün swap was mentioned, but the Rockets have no interest, team sources said. League sources said New Orleans also contacted the Philadelphia 76ers concerning a possible Ingram trade.”

Recent rumors and reports out of NOLA have suggested that extension talks with Ingram are at a complete standstill, so it makes sense that they’re making calls ahead of next week’s draft. We can get a feel for what the current ask might be if they suggested a straight up swap for Houston’s Alperen Sengun, a rising star who was in the conversation for Most Improved Player this season.

While NOLA’s preference might be getting back a contributor, it’s unlikely that’ll be the case if the Sixers agree to an Ingram deal. An Ingram-Philly trade framework would likely revolve around draft capital, as the Sixers can offer up to five first-round draft picks on draft night.

The current ask isn’t monstrous for a former All-Star such as Ingram, and it’s likely to drop until an actual deal takes place. Around the NBA, teams are looking to shed salary, not add it. Not only is Ingram’s salary large now, but his future team will also need to work out an extension, as he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after next season — another factor that could cause the ask to drop even further. Whether you’re an Ingram fan or not, the appeal of adding him becomes even more intriguing if you’re able to do it for a low price.

It seems like the Paul George smoke has intensified over the past few days, and this Ingram news will only add speculation to what should be a busy offseason for the Sixers.

2024 NBA Draft: Sixers linked to Duke’s Jared McCain, Colorado’s Tristan Da Silva nba,draft,sixers,linked,to,duke,s,jared,mccain,colorado,s,tristan,da,silva,liberty,ballers,front-page,76ers-draft-rumors-news,nba-rumors-news

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’Tis the season for NBA mock drafts! ESPN’s Draft Analysts, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, posted their latest mock which includes updated intel from around the league — including your Philadelphia 76ers. Givony linked the Sixers to two prospects: Duke’s Jared McCain and Colorado’s Tristan Da Silva.

Starting off with McCain, who Givony mocks to the Sixers at No. 16 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, now just one week away:

“McCain appears to be firmly inside the top 20 at this point, earning a green room invitation and having enjoyed a positive pre-draft process. There’s interest in him from teams in the late lottery, and the Heat, 76ers and Lakers are all possibilities, creating what looks like a narrow range.

As an excellent shooter with impressive intangibles that have bolstered his case in the short and long term, McCain is well-prepared for an NBA adjustment and could be on a faster track to making an impact than your typical freshman. His ability to play both backcourt spots intelligently and provide immediate spacing has plenty of appeal to any team in need of shooting or guard depth.

If the 76ers keep this pick — which they may instead use as a trade chip — that type of skill set would make a lot of sense next to Tyrese Maxey. — Woo”

To get familiar with McCain, check out our draft profile found here.

McCain would be a solid pick for the Sixers, especially if the bigger names don’t fall. McCain is one of the best shooters in this draft and has a well-rounded offensive skillset. He’s more of a shooting guard than a traditional point guard, but he’d be an excellent fit offensively alongside Tyrese Maxey. Defensively, there are some concerns on how that theoretical backcourt would fare in big minutes due to a lack of size but it’s not something that the Sixers would be concerned with in the short-term.

Givony and Woo linked the Sixers to one other prospect in the first round, Colorado’s Tristan Da Silva, who they had going to the Los Angeles Lakers just one pick later:

“Da Silva was a surprising omission from the NBA’s early green-room list, but he may still earn an invitation, with firm interest in inside the top 20. He has interest as high as Memphis at No. 9, but will likely fall into the next range, where an array of playoff-caliber teams, including the Kings, Heat, Sixers, and Lakers, are all interested in his services.

Da Silva’s versatility at either forward spot on both ends and reliable 3-point shooting give him a good pathway to minutes next season, although his ceiling isn’t perceived quite as high as some of the younger players in this range.”

For info on Da Silva, check out our draft profile found here.

Da Silva is arguably one of the safer candidates in the top-20, presenting a higher floor and lower ceiling than other prospects in said range. For his size, he’s a gifted shooter and has drawn comparisons to Cam Johnson. However, he lacks athleticism and defensive tenacity to label him a true 3-and-D forward.

I wouldn’t put Da Silva at the top of my Sixers-centric draft board, but he presents a safe option if the big names go and the Sixers can’t find a deal for a veteran. He’d slot in nicely as a forward next to Embiid, offering floor spacing and a small splash of playmaking.

We’re mere days away from the NBA draft, so expect to get an even better understanding of what the Sixers could do in the near future.