Philadelphia 76ers Predictions: All 3 Big Men Close Season

Despite the seemingly inevitable trade that will occur to move one of the big men at some point this season, the Philadelphia 76ers may not achieve that.

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers have at least one too many big men to reach maximum efficiency at the moment. The trouble is, they haven’t settled on a deal to move any of their big men to win the most games.

It seems as if right now, the team is content with going into this season with all three of their big men — Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel — and testing each player out. With the new franchise player in Ben Simmons, it seems logical that the team would see which big man works best alongside him, and go with that player.

Many think that at the trade deadline this season, one of the big men on the Sixers is bound to be moved. Right now, the trade market has died down after the draft and free agency, and the offers for Noel and Okafor have dried up (and of course, the doubts surrounding Embiid makes him an incredibly unattractive trade piece). But when the trade deadline comes, teams get squeamish, and teams are looking for players to add to make that playoff push.

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It would make sense for the Sixers to be involved in trade talks to move a big man this summer, but part of me believes that the Sixers will end the season with all three big men.

Think about it — team president Bryan Colangelo has not been trigger happy regarding trades, contrary to Sam Hinkie, the team’s past president. What makes us believe he will be looking to make a trade at the deadline? Surely, he will be listening to offers, but it’s clear that Colangelo is very conservative with his deals, and it’s clear that he is not going to accept a lowball.

Additionally, we can look at trade deadline rumors of past seasons and realize that although there’s a lot of talk, only a handful of trades actually have the pieces on each side to make a satisfactory deal. The reality is that making these deals is not easy, and when one side is stubborn about overvaluing their big men, it’s going to make it even harder.

Going into this offseason with all three big men seems like an awful idea. The Sixers don’t want to prolong the logjam and then have to sign Nerlens Noel to a max deal (he is a restricted free agent bound to get money this offseason) or let him walk without getting anything at all in return for him. They also don’t want to trade Noel to avoid paying him, while keeping Okafor who may not be the better fit.

At the same time, allowing Joel Embiid to show off this season allows them to build a trade value on a third player. If they can show that he can stay healthy and be a that generational talent he was once expected to be, there’s a chance the Sixers could open doors for a third trade option.

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While I see why fans believe that a big man will be gone before next offseason, the Sixers could wait to trade, and move up in this year’s draft. Of course, adding more young players has not been the mantra of BC’s plan thus far, but the team may just end up with all of their big men again at the end of this season.

2017 Bold Predictions: Sixers Will End Year With All 3 Big Men

By Josh Wilson | Aug 12, 2016

Despite the seemingly inevitable trade that will occur to move one of the big men at some point this season, the Philadelphia 76ers may not achieve that.

More from The Sixer Sense