Philadelphia 76ers: 5 Things We Learned During NBA Draft

Waiting on trades

One of the biggest things about draft night that happened, was actually what didn’t happen. The Sixers were said to be a part of several trades, including nearly sealing deals with the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves for their respective picks at 3 and 5.

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None of the deals would go through, however, and the Sixers ended up simply drafting at 1, 24, and 26, just as originally planned. Colangelo said he would have liked to move in the lottery, but also said that he wanted to wait on trades and not do anything crazy just for a quick deal.

The Sixers were rumored to be talking with Boston since about 12 p.m. on Thursday, so the fact that a deal didn’t get done is pretty remarkable. The Sixers and Celtics had to go back a ton during that time, and it doesn’t seem as if it would have been impossible to get a deal done if Philly really wanted to.

But they waited out because there was not a solid deal in place. The Sixers were going to have to give up a lot. Reportedly — and take this with a grain of salt, Colangelo later said many of the rumors were incorrectly reported — the Sixers offered Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington, and the two late first-round picks for just No. 3.

Although that deal may have been fair for the Celtics, the Sixers were giving up a lot of their nucleus in that scenario. I’m not sure it was worth it, and clearly, the Sixers weren’t sure either.

It’s good to know that the team is waiting on trades and making sure that the deals they make are the right ones, not just the attractive ones.

Next: Nerlens is being shopped