No big trades in 2018
Another repercussion if Tatum is selected by the Philadelphia 76ers, is that then-rookie general manager Elton Brand, probably doesn’t make any major trades in his first season.
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Based on the two previous slides, the Sixers would have a core of Simmons, Embiid, Tatum and SGA. Presumably, they would all be relatively healthy. If that the case, there’s no need for Brand to make a major trade to add another star seeing as he would already have three and potentially four.
That means no Jimmy Butler drama and not having to overpay to retain Tobias Harris last summer. Don’t be mistaken, both Butler and Harris are very good in their own right, but by not adding them, the 76ers have a much younger roster and more promising future. They also would have kept more of the draft assets as well.
That means that more than likely that Robert Covington, Dario Saric, and Landry Shamet would still be on the roster. They would provide much better depth than what Philly is currently working without, with exception to Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, and Furkan Korkmaz.
The Sixers core would have grown more naturally and there may not have been ready to win right away, but they would have had a much longer window to win multiple championships.
Drafting Tatum instead of Fultz would have changed the course of the Philadelphia 76ers, especially in terms of roster construction and having a bigger/longer championship window.