The trade landscape this season turned out to be one made intriguing by guesswork and speculations for the most part. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers are one of the teams that made a head-scratching decision. But if there is any consolation, it seems like the front office has finally learned its lesson in light of what has been spilled just recently.
As reported, the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade mill continues to churn, and according to ESPN insider Ramona Shelburne, the Bucks were already locking in on young players they would be willing to part with their superstar for. One of those rumored cogs is 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe, who has been a contender for Rookie of the Year for most of the season.
MIlwaukee registering interest in Edgecombe is not a surprise, but it is certainly encouraging to see Philly’s brain trust not yield to this temptation — at least for now. It only goes to show that the franchise is starting to do away with its erstwhile hankering for going big name-hunting, even at the cost of building a sustainable core for the future.
The 76ers finally learned their lesson given this latest Giannis trade rumor
The Greek Freak is still an MVP-caliber player when healthy –– there is no arguing against that. Having said that, it is resoundingly clear that his partnership with the Bucks –– the only franchise he has ever known –– is on life support. The push and pull that is currently happening between both camps is purely dilatory at this point. Put simply, there is no other way out of this saga but to end it with an actual divorce.
The 76ers would gladly have someone like him in the fold, but not at the uber steep cost he projects to have. Giannis is one of the biggest floor and ceiling-raisers in the league, but if the front office will have to shell out everything they have accumulated in addition to Edgecombe, a potential franchise centerpiece in the future, the right call is to say “no.”
Philly may not be anywhere close to contention right now, but the infrastructure to build one is already in the house. This team has the necessary tools to beat any team in the league when healthy, and it is simply a matter of putting things together and ensuring that whatever they have right now will last for the foreseeable future — a proposition that simply will not happen if they would sell the farm for Giannis.