The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: Wait to Trade Big Man Until Trade Deadline

By Josh Wilson

Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (right) talks with center Jahlil Okafor against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (right) talks with center Jahlil Okafor against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers may be better off in the future if they wait to trade one of their big men until the NBA trade deadline later this season.

The Philadelphia 76ers have some restructuring to do with their roster before they’re truly competitive in the NBA. They’ve utilized some of their assets, and seem to have a solid base of pieces to use going forward.

Of course, there’s more assets to be used. The Sixers have tons of money to spend, future draft picks from other teams, and a pick swap with the Sacramento Kings. So they’re not done bringing in pieces, but they have their base.

That base is comprised of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid — perhaps Dario Saric — Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor. Looking at that foundation, there’s obviously a lot of big men. Noel, Okafor, and Embiid can’t all play on the same roster.

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Even last season, Noel and Okafor could not be on the same roster together without issues arising. The two both played close to the hoop on offense, and couldn’t be efficient on the floor together. Embiid won’t be that much different, hinting at huge issues on the horizon if one of the three (at least) is not moved to another team.

It’s been made clear that Okafor or Noel will likely be traded. Even Brett Brown has said that. The question becomes who and also when?

The who isn’t that big of an issue. Both of these players have huge positives that will make for a good situation no matter who the Sixers keep. The when is a bigger issue.

As with any trade, the goal is to always get the maximum value. Sam Hinkie, the team’s former president, was known for always getting maximum value and maximum assets in every trade, but that put him in a position where other league owners and presidents did not want to deal with the Sixers.

Now, with Bryan Colangelo at the helm, it looks as if the Sixers may have some more leeway when making trades, but they also aren’t going to let themselves get lowballed. It’s been reported that several times the Sixers have been in talks to trade Okafor or Noel, but still, neither has been traded. The Sixers have always backed out before trades went through, and Colangelo has said it is because they didn’t feel the deals were good deals.

Colangelo smartly believes making a deal just for the sake of making a deal is not a good idea, and he’s probably right. Why not get a good deal? But the team still looks to be making a deal as soon as they can, as long as it is good.

I think that waiting for the NBA trade deadline this season may be the better route, rather than trading before this season.

Here’s what I’m thinking: The Sixers, at the moment, are very outspoken about shopping around their big men. I’d be surprised if any of the 29 other teams executives didn’t know that the Sixers were looking to move Okafor and Noel. Although there’s teams out there that may want them, they are going to use the Sixers’ need to move them to their advantage.

You see, with any deal, there’s almost always a party that needs the deal to happen more than the other team. With the Sixers right now, they are almost always going to be the team that needs the deal to happen more. Because of that, they’re going to get offers that just don’t live up to the true value of Noel or Okafor.

If you want the Sixers to trade Noel or Okafor before the season begins, expect to get frustrated at the deal that goes through. Expect to see a deal where the Sixers practically give one of these guys away.

But if the Sixers wait until the deadline, a power shift may occur. The Sixers will be the team that needs the deal to happen less. Teams at the deadline, as always, will get restless and will look to get a quick deal done. With time being of the essence, they may push for a deal to go through quickly, just to get one of these guys, giving up more than they should. Before they know it, the deal will be done, and they won’t be able to take it back.

Additionally, waiting for the trade deadline allows the Sixers to build the trade value of Okafor and Noel (and heck, even Embiid) for half a season more. Okafor is just coming off of his rookie year, and Noel his sophomore. Another half a season could do wonders for either of these young players’ trade values, thus increasing the return that the Sixers receive in a trade.

The last thing waiting for the deadline does is it allows the Sixers to confirm that Embiid is, in fact, healthy.

Another scenario that could play out, if Embiid is healthy and playing significant time, is he could potentially become involved in the trade conversation. Although I think it’s unlikely, there’s a possibility teams could see what he can do in real NBA games and decide to take a gamble on the possibly injury-plagued center/power forward.

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Detractors of this idea of waiting for the deadline could say that the team needs to win and show improvement next season, and keeping incompatible guys on the roster will not allow that to happen. To that, I would say, regardless of if the Sixers improve or not, they will not be a playoff team. Next year is still largely experimental. Having a few too many big men on the roster for half of the season next year is not a huge deal.

Who knows, around the deadline next year, we could see the Philadelphia 76ers keeping the league in a chokehold as they look for the best deal for three of their lottery pick big men.