With the season essentially being over for the Philadelphia 76ers, the front office has no other way to go about things than to try and make this season count by luring in assets that can be used for later. While the second half of the season is still waiting to arrive, there is little to no benefit for this team if they decide to continue pounding the rock and chase a puny play-in spot.
The trade deadline for this year is just a few weeks away, meaning that Philly’s brass will have to move with more aggression on the trade market if they want to get something done. The 76ers have been an idle customer so far, but they do have sufficient ammo to still play a huge part in how the landscape changes past the deadline.
Another mode the 76ers can adopt is to take advantage of teams in need of certain players and pounce accordingly. The championship this year remains a wide-open race, and there are a bunch of teams with legitimate claims to fight for the trophy this season.
The 76ers should engage the Timberwolves on a trade after the latter’s big injury news
One team that can still go all the way to the NBA Finals is Minnesota. While they are posting a mediocre record compared to last season, they remain talented enough to make a deep playoff run. However, a recent injury to Donte DiVincenzo, one that could sideline him for the rest of the season.
No offense intended, but the 76ers should see this as an opportunity to be prime sellers for the Timberwolves. Philly has some players they can deploy in DiVincenzo’s stead, and none project as uber-expensive gets.
Caleb Martin, for example, would be a snug fit for Minny. While he does not offer anything close to DiVincenzo’s voluem three-point shooting, he is an all-around sieve who can be a major factor on both ends of the court as a connector on offense and multipositional defender on defense.
As the 76ers would be the one conceding on such a trade blueprint, the Timberwolves would be forced to incentivize them. With Philly needing to bolster its assets for the near future, parting with a role player that has not panned out for, say, draft capital, would not be a shabby idea.
Clearly, the Philadelphia 76ers have to be as opportunistic as possible as they approach the trade deadline. That way, they could at least make something good out of what has otherwise been a deflating campaign.