Deal number three would send some shockwaves across NBA Twitter and the rest of the league’s landscape. The Philadelphia 76ers negotiate their way into another three-team trade involving old Eastern Conference rival, the Toronto Raptors. The Sixers, Raptors, and Portland Trail Blazers join forces to make a monumental trade.
The Sixers receive Chris Boucher and Gary Trent Jr. from Toronto, Toronto receives Tobias Harris from Philadelphia, Anfernee Simons from Portland, and four draft picks from Portland (‘23 1st, ‘24 2nd via ATL, ‘25 2nd via ATL, and ‘29 1st) and Portland acquires Pascal Siakam and Furkan Korkmaz.
The Sixers maneuvering their way into this trade would be beneficial for the supporting cast of the team. Boucher and Trent Jr. are legitimate two-way role players that are more athletic than most of the Sixers’ roster. Boucher is a small-ball center that stands 6’10, has good outside shooting, soft touch around the rim, and the ability to catch lobs. On defense, Boucher is light on his feet enough to defend out on the perimeter, lure guys into shooting before using his length to block or challenge the shot and fly over from the weak side for a block.
Trent Jr. is a fierce competitor. He competes on both sides of the ball. Throughout the years of his career, either with the Blazers or on his second team the Raptors. Trent is a decent-sized shooting guard and sort of an undersized wing standing at 6’5 and weighing slightly over 200 pounds. Trent makes up for his physical deficiencies with a hounding defense of ballhandlers and shooters. On the offensive side, Trent is confident and not afraid to let it fly. Last season, Trent Jr. scored 17.4 points per game on .433/.369/.839 where he took almost seven threes per game.
The Sixers would do this to add to their depth around Embiid, Harden, and Maxey. The Blazers do this to add an All-NBA caliber talent and big versatile wing player in the prime of his career with championship experience to play with homegrown perennial All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. Toronto would accept this trade to acquire an electric and athletic scoring machine in Anfernee Simons along with a large chest of draft picks that include the number three overall selection in this upcoming draft. The only reason for this deal not happening is that both Portland and Toronto believe that each can get more for their tradeable assets in Pascal Siakam and Anfernee Simons.