Philadelphia 76ers: Is trading for Jabari Parker a viable option?

The NBA trade deadline is quickly coming up and the Philadelphia 76ers are staying relatively quiet. However, fans should be anticipating the Sixers’ president basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manager Elton Brand to make a deal at some point.

Recently, I wrote about how the 76ers should be calling the Sacramento Kings about making a trade. The Kings are out of the playoff hunt, they should be retooling their roster, and they have a lot of players on their roster who can help a contender.

One of the player I wrote on in that article was Jabari Parker, who has only played in three games this season. Despite being a former second overall pick, Parker has fallen from grace dramatically. However, he could be a sneaky good player on a team like Philly.

Parker is worth the risk for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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This season hasn’t been kind to Parker as he’s missed time with injuries and COVID protocols. He’s also buried on the power forward depth chart behind the likes of Marvin Bagley III, Harrison Barnes, and Nemanja Bjelica.

With that in mind, he’s only played in three games and has averaged 9.0 minutes, 2.7 points, and 2.0 rebounds. It should be noted in the one game he played 16 minutes he had six points and three rebounds.

The pros for Parker are simple, he can be a scoring option around the rim at high efficency. Last season as a member of the Hawks when he was coming off the bench and averaged 15.0 points and six rebounds. He can be a legit pick-and-roll threat off the bench. As of now, only Dwight Howard is the only threat off the bench for the Sixers.

Adding another guy who can finish around the rim at a high rate can be an intriguing option for the 76ers. The cons are he doesn’t have a consistent outside shot and doesn’t defend well. However, Philly wouldn’t be asking him to play major minutes in most cases. He could compete with Mike Scott for backup power forward spot and can be used in certain lineups and situations.

The reason why he would be worth it is that what the Sixers would have to give up for him would be minimal. Below is a very feasible trade offer that would help both teams improve their depth charts.

The Kings need small forward depth and Terrance Ferguson needs a fresh start. Outside of Barnes, the only other guy who is a natural small forward in Sacramento is Justin James, who is a fringe NBA player. As both players don’t appear to be in their respective teams’ future, swapping them straight up just makes sense.

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The upside to the 25-year-old Parker outweighs his negatives based on the type of role that he would be expected to have and what it would take for the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire him.