The deepest position for the Philadelphia 76ers is probably power forward.
The Sixers may have lost Tobias Harris this past summer, their starting power forward for the last half-decade, but they gained a lot of depth. Caleb Martin was signed to a four-year deal to start at the 4, while Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin re-signed as depth and Guerschon Yabusele came over to the NBA after an inspired Olympic performance.
Yet despite that depth, the 76ers have not found the right answer at the 4, and each of those four players have disappointed in one way or the other. Martin is shooting just 29.4 percent from deep and has been wholly ineffective for Philadelphia thus far.
Could the Sixers go after a forward on the trade market? It is certainly possible given their need and the situation that Philly is in. They are trying to make a run with Joel Embiid but the former MVP's knee doesn't wish to cooperate. This season may be their best chance at contention before his knee deteriorates even further, so pushing to maximize this year makes sense if team officials have a low view of how Embiid's knee will hold up long-term.
Who is available? Some veteran names are likely available, such as Dorian Finney-Smith or Trey Lyles. If the 76ers want to find a younger player who can grow with them, earning his contract now and setting himself up for the future, they need to look past the obvious names of aging-yet-experienced vets and begin to shop more intently.
One such player they could find is currently teammates with Tobias Harris on the Detroit Pistons, and he would probably be available at the right price point. That player is Simone Fontecchio.
Simone Fontecchio is an ideal trade target for the 76ers
The ideal trade target is someone who fits a need and is available at a discount compared to their usual value. That could be because the team trying to trade them has lost leverage, because that player is coming off of an injury, or because they are playing poorly and you believe their future level of play is higher than how they are playing right now.
Simone Fontecchio falls into that last category, as his time in Detroit has not been excellent. The 6'8" forward burst onto the NBA scene two seasons ago in Utah, then last year was one of the best players on an up-and-down Utah Jazz team. He did all of the little things well you want from a role player, defending multiple positions, hitting shots and moving off-ball to the right spots on the court.
The tanking Jazz moved him at the Trade Deadline to the Pistons, who signed him to a new contract that presumably meant he was in their long-term plans. He balled out upon arriving in Motor City; in 16 games with the Pistons last season he averaged 30 minutes per game and put up 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 3-pointers on 42.6 percent shooting from deep.
Then Detroit drafted one forward in Ron Holland and signed another as their big free-agent swing in Tobias Harris, and suddenly Fontecchio was marginalized in the rotation and in Detroit's future plans. Whether due to the reduced role or not, Fontecchio's play this season has taken a step back, as he is shooting just 34.5 percent from deep in only 18 minutes per game.
That makes Fontecchio an excellent buy-low candidate. His contract is a major asset, which will increase his value in a trade but makes him even more valuable to a contender like the 76ers than to the slowly-building Pistons. The Italian forward makes just $7.7 million this season and $8.3 next season, peanuts for a player worthy of starting at power forward.
The 76ers could put together a trade package of KJ Martin and some draft capital -- multiple seconds or a low-value first -- and reasonably expect the Pistons to play ball on a trade (credit Dunc'd On podcast for mentioning this trade idea when discussing the Pistons). Fontecchio would have increased spacing and likely increased playing time in Philadelphia, and he would be given every opportunity to earn the starting power forward job.
The 76ers could entertain more drastic trade ideas, but this is the kind of a deal that improves the rotation around their stars and equips them with the depth to go to war in the playoffs with teams like the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. It's an idea worth exploring, and the 76ers need every idea they can get to survive this season.