The Philadelphia 76ers are in a pretty dangerous spot right now. After dropping five of their first seven games to kickstart 2025, they are starting to create some distance between themselves and the postseason picture thanks to their poor play as of late — an unprecedented stinker following a month where they displayed pure competence on the hardwood.
With the trade deadline getting closer by the day, the urgency to make a move now is just becoming stronger. The team’s urgent and pressing needs are rising to the surface more prominently with each passing loss, and they simply cannot be satisfied playing from the outside, looking in.
While there are a slew of weaknesses on this roster, perhaps the most striking one as of late for the 76ers is their gross lack of rebounding across the board. Philadelphia is dead-last in rebounds per game and in rebounding percentage — areas clearly attributable to their lack of functional depth at center with Joel Embiid constantly nursing injuries and Andre Drummond being the same.
The 76ers could (and should) make a trade for Hornets’ Nick Richards
The 76ers need a center, preferably someone younger and has more vitality to take on imposing bigs on the opposite end on a nightly basis. Thankfully, that player may just be readily available for them.
Hornets center Nick Richards has reportedly been made available, and while the 76ers have not been linked to the 27-year-old (with the Suns as the only rumored suitor as of the moment), they have the ammunition to entice Charlotte into engaging with them on the transaction table.
The LaMelo Ball-led squad is once again struggling this season, forcing the ball club into seriously considering a massive retooling, even at midseason point. They gotta keep their superstar happy, and they certainly cannot do that by standing pat, doing nothing to abate the icky situation.
Richards, who should fetch some suitors (note: plural), should be one of the players that can net the Hornets some assets in return. The 76ers do have some draft capital to incentivize Charlotte, the likes of which should trump whatever Phoenix has in store.
Philadelphia would be well-served having Richards on the house. He is a tenacious rebounder, especially on the offensive boards, and is an efficiency machine as a finisher despite this season being a relatively down year for him.
There is little risk for the Philadelphia 76ers to trade for Nick Richards — that much is certain. Hopefully, the front office manages to hook him up, as their rebounding struggles cannot be any more pronounced.