3 hurdles that will keep the 76ers from ever trading for Trae Young

2. Lack of trade capital

So, if Tobias Harris doesn’t move the needle, the Sixers would need to attach assets of significant value to Harris in order to tempt the Hawks and outbid other interested parties. Therein lies the biggest issue: Philadelphia is fresh out of valuable trade chips.

Daryl Morey shelled out a slew of first-round picks to rid Philadelphia of Al Horford and then to acquire James Harden. Good trades, but the next first-round pick the Sixers can offer up via trade is their 2029 pick. Other teams will be able to offer several first-round picks for Young; Philly simply cannot.

With no draft picks to trade, the Sixers would have to turn to young players with high ceilings. Well, the Sixers are on the older end of the NBA age spectrum. There isn’t a ton of valuable young talent to trade unless the conversation involves Tyrese Maxey. One has to imagine the Sixers — and their fanbase — would be extremely hesitant to swap Harris, Maxey, and maybe more for a star with Young’s myriad flaws. Maxey was notably kept off the table in Harden trade talks.

The Sixers could probably pique Atlanta’s interest with a Harris-Maxey package, but I’m not sure that would pique the Sixers’ interest. Paul Reed and Jalen McDaniels are entering free agency and therefore can’t really be involved in trade conversations. Jaden Springer flashed a lot of potential in the G-League, but he has only a handful of NBA minutes under his belt. The Hawks aren’t going to be moved to action by Springer’s involvement. He would be little more than window dressing in potential negotiations.

So, with no picks and a lack of young, affordable talent outside of Maxey, it becomes difficult to imagine the mechanics of a Young-to-Philly trade.