1. Robert Covington
VERDICT: Trick
This isn’t a trick because Robert Covington wouldn’t help the Sixers. Of course he would help the Sixers. Regardless of “fit,” Covington is a quick-trigger shooter from deep and one of the best defensive forwards in basketball. There aren’t many places he wouldn’t fit.
That said, this is a trick because, frankly, it won’t happen. The Rockets are still committed to competing, and Covington is a distant third wheel in Houston’s star triumvirate at this point. He’s the piece of most importance outside James Harden and Russell Westbrook, both for his rim protection skills and his ability to heat up from deep.
The Rockets are not going to trade Covington for Josh Richardson straight-up, even if a rebuild feels inevitable by the next trade deadline. They can get more for him. Would Richardson and Matisse Thybulle do the trick (pun intended)? Perhaps, but Philadelphia would be wise to invest more in guard talent, rather than a forward who mainly spots up.
Houston has no reason to swap Covington for the more expensive and less valuable Al Horford, nor would the necessary salary filler give Houston any more reason to think on it. Covington does fit the bill of someone Daryl Morey might target, and sure, a trade is not impossible. But is he someone who, in the current context of Philadelphia’s roster, is worth the assets it would take to get him? Probably not.