The Philadelphia 76ers have a much-needed shot at glory a month from now. After all, they hold the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which packs a wide pool of quality prospects with high ceilings.
For now, the 76ers seem predisposed toward exercising their pick and making a selection, A lot of things and abrupt developments can still occur a month from now, but the most sensible thing for the front office to do at this juncture is to stay put and ensure that they get their target at No. 3.
Most mock drafts have the 76ers picking between Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe, the two best prospects this year outside not named Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper. But here is where the dilemma kicks in. Both players have strong cases as to why Philly should take them, and the most likely outcome is that the front office will also consider packaging their pick for a more proven commodity.
However, one scenario also involves the team basically forcing itself to part ways with an important piece of the puzzle.
Drafting VJ Edgecombe could force the 76ers to trade Jared McCain
Should the 76ers ultimately choose Edgecombe over Bailey, the 76ers could find themselves in a tough position. After all, Edgecombe is an athletic wing who is much better off playing as a shooting guard. That leaves the team with a sudden logjam at the position with Jared McCain and Quentin Grimes — a restricted free agent the team would like to retain — expected to man the role next season.
While McCain has been a huge bright spot for the franchise in what has otherwise been a deflating season, it remains to be seen whether he can sustain the level of play he turned in across an 82-game season, especially coming off a pretty major injury early in his career.
When the push comes to shove, and Edgecombe proves to be even better than advertised, there is a world out there where Daryl Morey and his crew will deem it appropriate to sell hard on the sophomore and see if another team will be willing to meet a gouged price tag after his short but impressive freshman campaign.
For now, though, that is plainly conjectural, but it only reinforces one of the few caveats about the Philadelphia 76ers going with VJ Edgecombe in the draft. But despite that possibility, given where they are now, the team cannot afford to get all fussy about logjams and whatnot.