The Philadelphia 76ers are finally entering the offseason, but they are extremely unlikely to be able to pull off any blockbuster trade. One raging front, the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, is even more out of reach for the franchise. Aside from the fact that they do not really have the asset pool to contend with the frontrunners for the two-time MVP, the front office simply has different priorities at this point in time.
Jameer Nelson, who was just promoted as the team vice-president, recently hinted at why the 76ers have no business trading for Giannis. He spoke at length about VJ Edgecombe, who turned in a very strong rookie campaign for the squad, giving a glowing review on the young guard and basically indicating that he will be an untouchable moving forward.
"VJ is one of the guys--that he's not afraid of the moment, you know? Go back to his college days, it was only a year ago, but he got better pretty much every month, and it was a similar trajectory here, where you could say, and he hit the ground running, but he never took a step back. I think he just continued to grow and learn, which is admirable by him."
Those are quite clearly not the words to describe a player whom the team intends to dangle away even for an established superstar like the Greek Freak.
The 76ers will not pursue a Giannis trade due to VJ Edgecombe
By all means, any and all trade scenarios involving the 76ers and Antetokounmpo will include Edgecombe, whom Milwaukee will most definitely require to even entertain an invitation by Philly to go to the transaction table. However, it is pretty evident that the to-be sophomore is a no-touch zone –– and rightfully so.
As good as Giannis is, trading someone as young and promising as Edgecombe would be front office malpractice. Sure, the former might be the biggest ceiling-raiser in the league right now, but his acquisition would merely presuppose a brief extension of a waning championship window and an all-in mortgage of four to five-year future outlook given all the assets that would have to be included alongside Edgecombe.
Sticking with the rook, however, gives Philadelphia a fighting chance to remain relevant well beyond the foreseeable future. The 76ers seem to be operating under the belief that he will blossom into a franchise player sooner than later, and that is admittedly a just assessment of Edgecombe, who has shown tremendous potential after standing out despite playing next to pedigree-laden stars.
Nelson echoed what every sensible 76ers fan has always felt about the think piece of trading Edgecombe for Giannis. It is simply too risky of a gambit, and it is simply time for the franchise to commit to a future-oriented approach instead of going all-in on a brief window.
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