After gaining significant momentum in the last few weeks and racking up a slew of wins along the way, the Philadelphia 76ers faced another bump in the road after losing back-to-back games in their ongoing West Coast road trip. The twin losses brought them down to a 13-19 record this season, still somehow clinging to 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
Their last pair of losses were grand showcases of their lack of consistency as a team. While the team has definitely improved by leaps and bounds compared to their putrid start to the season, they are still pretty capable of putting out unsightly basketball, especially during clutch situations, as seen in their gut-wrenching loss to the Kings.
A common motif from their recent losses is their lack of defensive resistance, especially on the perimeter. To toss it up as a one-time thing, however, would be farcical. The 76ers are in the bottom half of the the league in defensive rating, and despite flashes, the team has been far from impressive on that end. This is something that the front office clearly has to address before the trade deadline.
Dream 76ers trade target Herb Jones may actually be unavailable for taking
In keeping with Philly’s urgent need for defensive reinforcement, as well as their inherent lack of depth at forward, Herb Jones was floated as a pipe dream trade target for the squad. One of the most fearsome one-on-one defenders in the NBA, the 76ers could not have found a better player to target especially given that his salary is easy to match.
Unfortunately, the Jones sweepstakes could end up being a futile and moot one. According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Pelicans are not predisposed toward making him available in the first place, holding the three-and-D wing in high regard. Demand for 26-year-old is expected to be pretty robust, but New Orleans is clearly deeming him as part of their team’s nucleus.
There is still some hope that New Orleans would loosen its stance on the defensive-minded wing. The Pelicans have the worst record in the Western Conference and are currently stuck with an injury-prone core led by the bench-riding Zion Williamson. Should they opt for a soft reboot, trading Jones would allow them to extract significant assets in return.
But for now, it’s extremely unlikely that the Philadelphia 76ers — or really, any other team for that matter — would be able to make a move for Jones. He’s way too good to be the subject of a forced trade, and the Pelicans aren’t stupid to just pull such unwarranted trigger — at least not yet.