As the calendar flips to 2025, the Philadelphia 76ers are undeniably trending in the right direction. Following an abysmal start to the season, the team has slowly climbed the standings and has now gained significant momentum on the wins column, enough to revive hopes that they could actually contend for the championship as long as health permits.
But to fully maximize whatever championship window they have in the present campaign, it is imperative for the front office to make the roster as foolproof as possible. At the moment, that is still far from reach, the club still flaunting a slew of shortcomings, primarily from its personnel and the actual roster construction.
The 76ers are clearly operating with an imbalanced deck — it would not take much to realize that the roster is badly in want of bigger bodies. Philly may have an embarrassment of riches on the perimeter, especially prior to the Jared McCain injury, but one constant this season has been their clear and often debilitating lack of size.
Rumored Lakers trade plan could mess up the 76ers approach on the trading market
Philadelphia is obviously in the market for help on the interior, but it appears that they are not alone on that island. According to Anthony Irwin, a Lakers insider, Los Angeles is eyeing another center to bolster their roster after their latest move to snag Dorian Finney-Smith.
As I wrote in this piece, Jonas is still considered an option and the Lakers are still considered "most" likely to land him. They've just also started talking about other options because of Washington's current asking price. https://t.co/Gh4OpD2tQf
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) December 31, 2024
The Lakers are clearly looking to reinforce their pretty underwhelming defense. While adding Finney-Smith and in effect, stealing him from the 76ers, is a step in that direction, they have long needed another functional center to potentially play next or behind Anthony Davis.
Doubling down on this stance could, of course, stiffen the market for the 76ers in their search for another big body. The market for backup centers is not really that robust this time around, but with an aggressive pitcher like the Lakers on board, Philly will have to stretch out their assets more than expected and potentially pay a bigger price.
But in case the 76ers and Lakers get tangled up in a virtual two-man race, the former should have the upper hand. Philadelphia has the draft compensation that Los Angeles has a shortage of, and the franchise also has more tradable contracts than their Western Conference counterpart.
In any case, the Philadelphia 76ers will have to be even more aggressive than anyone, including the ever-embitious Lakers, to acquire that much-needed big man. Otherwise, they risk losing some of their more sterling targets to another playoff contender.