The Philadelphia 76ers have way too much on their plate to make a huge leap on their mental facilities as a collective and immediately look forward to the many possibilities awaiting them a full year from now, but it definitely won’t hurt to fantasize and think about the options that could be open for them later down the road.
That is more so the case given how thick the cloud is around the franchise at the moment. No team in the league has a more unpredictable profile for next season than Philly, and that only bodes well for early forecasters of how the market could shake up in the near future.
To cut to the chase, one name who could end up being the talk of the league a year from now is Kevin Durant. Sure, he just got traded to a new team this summer, but it seems like there is a strong possibility that his stay with his latest ball club could end up being a transitory one, at least if the latest reports hold water.
That, and the fact that the 76ers are still led by Daryl Morey already breeds a non-zero chance of a partnership slowly brewing if the stars perfectly align.
Kevin Durant could be a pipe dream target for the 76ers next year
According to recent reports, the belief around the league at present is that Durant and the Rockets will be slow-cooking things when it comes to contract extension talks. This aligns with the perception that Houston is not fully committed to going all-in on the aging superstar, which probably makes sense given their increasingly expensive roster.
Should Houston flop this season — a plausible scenario in the brutal and unforgiving Western Conference race — their front office will definitely think twice before handing Durant a rather debilitating extension from a pecuniary standpoint. That could open the window for the Rockets to look into some compromise deals, such as sign-and-trades, to avoid losing him for nothing.
The 76ers have something to say in that scenario. Philadelphia has a player and salary base that is pretty amenable to sign-and-trade arrangements, with the likes of Paul George and probably even Joel Embiid having the salary and the stature to be direct returns for Durant, not accounting for the financial exactitudes and whatnot.
It’s probably a tad too dreamy for now, but the Philadelphia 76ers will definitely be thrilled about the prospect of Kevin Durant even being available in itself. Their chances will be slim, of course, but with Daryl Morey, what matters is that a glimmer of hope exists.