Philadelphia 76ers: 5 trades to mitigate James Harden miss

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Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /

Can the Philadelphia 76ers find trade partners after missing out on James Harden?

The Philadelphia 76ers went fishing for a superstar and came up empty in James Harden negotiations. While that will undeniably set the franchise back, Daryl Morey will still surf the trade market in search of ways to improve the roster around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

This article will focus on trades not involving Simmons, although the case for jettisoning Philadelphia’s All-Star guard is growing. Morey is in the unenviable position of needing to maximize Joel Embiid’s prime without totally mortgaging the future. Few players are worth emptying the entire clip, so to speak, and one of them just slipped through Morey’s hands.

Here are a few suggestions to help him out.

Sixers trade hypothetical #1

PHI gets: George Hill, Hamidou Diallo
OKC gets: Mike Scott, Matisse Thybulle, 2022 PHI 2RP

George Hill has started slow in OKC, which is not uncommon with aging players in undesirable situations. Hill is essentially waiting for a trade, with OKC unlikely to keep the 34-year-old past the trade deadline. OKC is rebuilding, and giving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander even greater control of the offense is not a bad course of action.

For Philadelphia, there’s obvious appeal with Hill — a solid two-way guard who can efficiently create for teammates and shoot the 3-ball. Hill is not far removed from a successful stretch in Milwaukee, where he contributed important minutes for a top-seeded contender. The Sixers would have no trouble finding minutes for Hill, even with Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey on the roster.

The incentive for OKC is Matisse Thybulle, whose defensive predisposition and jumpy athleticism fits the Thunder’s scouting department like a glove. The Sixers would do well to push for another young project like Hamidou Diallo, who is averaging 11.3 points in 20.4 minutes per game this season, but there’s a chance OKC simply asks for Thybulle (plus Scott, as salary filler) in a 2-for-1 trade.