One thing has become clear this offseason, the Utah Jazz are in a full rebuild. They’ve already traded one of their stars in Rudy Gobert and it appears they are open to trading Donovan Mitchell too, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The question becomes, should the Philadelphia 76ers be active in pursuing the three-time All-Star?
It’s certainly tempting to add another All-Star level talent to the Sixers All-Star duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden. However, it would be in the 76ers best interest to avoid any trade talks involving Mitchell at this time.
The Philadelphia 76ers need to stay away from any Mitchell trade talks.
The notion on the surface seems crazy enough, but trading for Mitchell would hurt the 76ers more than help. Let’s start off with the Gobert trade that Utah made with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota sent five quality players, plus four future first round picks for the multi-time winner of the Defensive Player of the Year.
It’s fair to assume that the Jazz will want a similar haul for Mitchell. That puts the Sixers out of race for the All-Star alone in terms of draft picks. The only first round draft picks Philly could send would be picks-swaps and picks in 2028 or 2029.
If the Sixers can’t send quality draft picks, they would have to give up most, if not all, of their young talent. That means on top of the Jazz’s wish list would be the Tyrese Maxey. Maxey has shown the potential to be a similar level player as Mitchell so trading him would not make much sense for Philly.
Other young players like Isaiah Joe, Paul Reed, and Jaden Springer would also be included in talks. That’s not including Tobias Harris to make the salaries match. Trading Harris would leave a hole in the depth chart at the forward positions as well.
Not only would trading for Mitchell drain the Sixers’ depth and draft picks, but his fit with James Harden is also questionable. Both are ball-dominant guards who aren’t used to playing off the ball. It’s not a clear fit.
With all those issues presented in a potential Mitchell trade, it would be in the Philadelphia 76ers to just stay away from the All-Star shooting guard.