The Philadelphia 76ers have been largely silent during the initial wave of free agency, but they are bound to be at the crux of the NBA circle not only because of the expected James Harden trade but also their reported pursuit of superstar guard Damian Lillard, who has just asked for a trade out of Portland after 11 years with the Trail Blazers.
While the Sixers are not among the preferred destinations of the seven-time All-Star with Lillard himself seemingly zeroing in on the Miami Heat, the runners-up in the recently concluded season, as his target landing spot, reports point to Philly doing their due diligence at the least with hopes of bringing him in as a potential Harden replacement.
The 76ers are expected to pursue a Damian Lillard trade
Despite the seeming inevitability of Lillard heading to Miami, Joe Cronin, GM of the Trail Blazers, have made it clear that they plan on casting around the market beyond Miami’s projected offer and that they will do what’s best for the organization under a commitment to winning.
If so, then the 76ers should still have a shot — no matter how slim — to eventually land Dame. After all, they have some options up their sleeve to entice Portland into striking a deal with them instead of the Heat. That being said, here are three trades that Philly can make to steal Lillard from Miami.
How the 76ers can double down on winning now with Damian Lillard
Over the last couple of days, reports have popped out stating that the Philadelphia 76ers are not interested in including breakout star Tyrese Maxey in any trade, which includes any hypothetical deals involving Damian Lillard.
That being said, Maxey is the Sixers’ best bet to tempt the Trail Blazers without exhausting their entire cupboard of draft capital beyond 2026, though that will entail that they part with perhaps their next big All-Star after the 22-year-old broke out in his third year in the league.
Really, the only chance that this transpires is if Joel Embiid applies pressure on Philly’s brass to double down on winning now, which could make them more conducive to the prospect of mortgaging Maxey for four years of Damian Lillard.
Whether Lillard himself respects a theoretical deal to Philadelphia remains to be seen, but this is the easiest and, unfortunately, the most realistic path for the Sixers toward Lillard. Furthermore, this will give them a route for free agency deals at the margins, as Tobias Harris will be dangled away to Portland in this case.
However, the inarguably wiser thing for the 76ers in this regard is to keep Maxey and play with their other sterling cards (ahem, James Harden).
The 76ers make a blockbuster three-team trade involving Damian Lillard
Yeah, this trade somehow works.
Before you engage me in a virtual kerfuffle, let’s set this straight: among all available options, James Harden to the LA Clippers is starting to look like an open-and-shot case, a foregone conclusion. And should the 76ers gain actual momentum toward their pursuit of Lillard, then expanding the deal into a three-way trade could at least be a viable framework even if highly unlikely and asyonishingly tricky.
The point for Philly is to acquire several assets from the Clippers for Harden and re-route them to Portland, allowing them to ease up on outgoing draft capital returns. And what do the Trail Blazers get from this? A slew of tradeable veterans they can later flick away for future assets, two solid youngsters in Maxey and Terance Mann, solid draft compensation, and just as important, complete relief from Jerami Grant’s lucrative deal.
For the Clippers, this gives them a chance to put themselves back into the pedestal with Harden and Grant as the Western Conference improves across the board.
Meanwhile, the 76ers acquire Lillard while still retaining Tobias Harris, whose outgoing value can net them significant relief and leeway to play out what’s remaining of the current free agency pool. Again, unlike the usual self-coerced trades, you’re getting Dame for four more seasons.
The 76ers and Trail Blazers make a direct switcheroo
The most realistic one out of this list for the 76ers, unfortunately, is one that makes the least amount of credence on the side of the Trail Blazers, which will surely exhaust all of their options to pinpoint Tyrese Maxey as the main fulcrum of a return for Damian Lillard if Portland’s brass declines Miami’s mediocre peak offer and turns to Philly.
In this straightforward scenario, the Sixers acquire Lillard and absorb Jerami Grant’s nouveau deal for Harden while dumping Tobias Harris and PJ Tucker in addition to sending Portland their unprotected first-rounders in 2024, 2026, and 2028. With Maxey out of the picture here, Philadelphia has to compensate by aggressively trading their picks.
This comes with adequate risk for the 76ers due to the amplitude of the outgoing draft capital, but the players going to Portland in this scenario are all out of the team’s future plans anyway. From that vista, this is definitely the one trade that will be the safest for the franchise.
That being said, the same cannot be said for Portland. Not only can they get a desired, non-flight risk star package for Lillard from other teams, but they can also get as much draft compensation from that same deal while retaining Grant, who can be flipped for assets down the road.
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