The Philadelphia 76ers, like the rest of the league, remain nearly dead silent despite the trade deadline coming in a couple of weeks. But having said that, it only takes one huge name to get the ball rolling hard, and a likely candidate to fill that role is Giannis Antetokounmpo. After all, the two-time MVP is perhaps the biggest hotshot to be in the rumor mill in recent years.
When it comes to interest alone, all 29 other teams have at least fantasized about the prospect of having a generational player like Giannis. For the 76ers, Bill Simmons recently dished out a wild trade proposal which has the Greek Freak landing in Philly. Unfortunately, it something which Philadelphia’s brass will never even entertain.
In a recent podcast guesting for The Ringer, Simmons — a well-known Celtics superfan, at that — pitched a deal where Giannis and Gary Harris end up with the 76ers while VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, and a future first-round pick are sent to the Bucks. Now, this is where Philly probably gets turned off, especially since they are basically forced to mortgage their future for a win-now superstar in this thought piece.
The 76ers will never trade VJ Edgecombe, even for Giannis
The prospect of having all three of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid (who is looking as healthy as ever), and Giannis is unfathomable in scale and promise. Having said that, there is no chance that the 76ers will willingly part with someone like Edgecombe for possibly only a few years of the Antetokounmpo experience.
Edgecombe, despite being a rookie, has comfortably established himself as a future centerpeice for the franchise. Those kind of players simply should not even be in conversations regarding trades, even for someone of Giannis’ caliber.
Philly’s front office will probably even find it more acceptable if they are forced to give up multiple first-round picks than dangle Edgecombe away. Guys like the Baylor standout do not come around often, and his standout production despite being surrounded by entrenched stars is pretty telling of what is in store for him as he matures and matriculates into what the 76ers are building.
The 76ers should no longer veer into the shortsighted wonders of big-name hunting. Of all franchises, they ought to know better. As such, the focus should be on building a nucleus that can win meaningfully and sustainably. A few years of Giannis — all without the promise of a longer commitment — at the expense of a defining building block like Edgecombe is simply no longer worth it.