The Philadelphia 76ers Should Avoid Trades For Now

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Apr 12, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) takes a pass during shooting drills prior to playing Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite initially seeking trade alternatives, NBA teams mocked the Philadelphia 76ers by setting ridiculous terms. Avoiding trades now gives the Sixers leverage for future negotiations.

Whether it was construed as payback for losing virtually every trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, the smell of fear from in Philadelphia 76ers team desperately trying to avoid another bad season at any cost, the gauntlet testing of a just-returned-to-the-NBA President Bryan Colangelo, or simply a perception of “fire sale” at Philadelphia due to poorly timed rhetoric that announced that the team planned to trade a center long before they even had any NBA team interested, the Philadelphia 76ers walked into trade negotiations thinking champagne ideas, but walked away feeling the beer budget.

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At the 2016 trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks discussed the possibility of swapping strengths: a center from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a point guard from the Atlanta Hawks With play-offs approaching, and the Hawks comfortable in carrying both point guards into the post season, nothing happened from the talks save a commitment to revisit the possibility of a deal at the end of the season. At season’s end, it was clear that the Atlanta Hawks preferred to retain the younger point guard Dennis Schroder, and entertain offers for the more veteran Jeff Teague.

In the negotiations that followed with the Atlanta Hawks, it was presumed that the teams would agree upon a swap of point guard Jeff Teague for center Nerlens Noel.

After no traction developed in negotiations, word leaked that the Atlanta Hawks wanted more for Teague, with the names of Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas added to the list. Eventually, even more news broke. Jeff Teague admitted he played with a torn patella, a decision which could cause serious complications to an injury with a relatively simply correction if addressed early enough. In the end, the Atlanta Hawks raised the asking price on damaged goods.

The Philadelphia 76ers chose wisely and did not act on that trade.

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