Rumors: Could The Philadelphia 76ers Trade Back?

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May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; General view during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia 76ers

Now the final piece, why would the Philadelphia 76ers want to do this? The true answer? They don’t.

But the team is all about improving, and the team is leaning heavily to veterans right now. If you think Ben Simmons is the best prospect in the next 20 years to enter the NBA, then would the team be foolish to open the phone lines up for true veterans who can play in post-season NBA competition, knowing that Dario Saric will arrive with very similar skill sets and already packing a formidable shot from the perimeter?

The bottom line is that the Philadelphia 76ers sit atop the mountain right now, and deserve to set the bar quite high to move from that point. Other NBA teams know that any offer for that first pick must contain a certain amount of “WOW” to get the Sixer’s notice. It’s the same for any team sitting at number one.

Many teams may pick up the phone and call, only to realize the asking price is too rich. But this is the NBA, when each year gives a team only two chances to hit the mother-lode. The 2016 NBA draft belongs to the Philadelphia 76ers. To surrender that control, an NBA team needs to package enough value to truly shake the earth under the Sixers.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers Future NBA Draft Picks

Pipe dream? Maybe. But in the NFL, when a team covets the number one pick for a top quarterback they mortgage their entire draft: present and future. In the NBA, the stakes are oh so much higher because the true game-changes remain in the top two or three slots of the draft. The Sixers have no compelling reason to trade the first overall pick. The team is simply coming out of a 10-72 season and looking to optimize their improvement in any fashion possible.