After a busy offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers can comfortably go into training camp knowing that they made the proper changes to enter the 2026-2027 NBA season as a contender on paper. Right now, the Sixers don’t need to make any moves, big or small.
As we know, that’s rarely a mindset that sticks throughout an entire NBA season, even after the trade deadline, when the buyout market heats up. The Sixers will start to figure out what they need in December, but it’s never too early to start throwing out names of players on each NBA team that the Sixers can realistically target when it’s time to start talking shop.
Looking at the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers might be able to find a player that doesn’t solve their center concerns in the frontcourt, but gives them a shooting upgrade behind LeBron James.
[Previous targets: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers]
The Pistons could offer the Sixers some frontcourt help
When looking at the Pistons’ roster for realistic trade targets, it’s hard not to think, ‘Man, the Sixers could really use their backup center, Paul Reed.’ As cool as it would be to see the Sixers right their wrongs and bring back Bball Paul, the Pistons have no reason to make that move unless they are getting a steal.
Just a few months ago, the Pistons watched Paul Reed outplay the All-Star Jalen Duren and the fan favorite Isaiah Stewart in the playoffs. His postseason contributions have legitimately made it difficult for the Pistons to fork over max money to Duren. Reed will make $5.6 million to be Duren’s primary backup, assuming the one-time All-Star returns.
When it comes to Detroit, I’m thinking more along the lines of Taurean Prince. They don’t solve the center concern, but they can improve the three-point shooting at the power forward position with the 32-year-old, expiring veteran.
Prince has been in the NBA since 2016. He had stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Milwaukee Bucks. Over 10 years, Prince has appeared in 608 games. He has averaged 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. The most intriguing stat? 38.7% from three, while taking 4.5 per game. During his two-season run with the Bucks, Prince averaged 43.8% from three.
The Sixers seem to like what they have in the 22-year-old Dominick Barlow, but they clearly want to see a shooting improvement from the young veteran. Over four years, Barlow has made 25.4% of his threes, which was on par with his season on the Sixers.
How can the 76ers get it done?
The hard part isn’t finding ways to match the money. Prince is set to make $3.8 million in 2026-2027. The hard part is finding a player the Pistons want to swap him for. Barlow is an option if the Pistons want to go younger at power forward. Maybe they like the upside of Justin Edwards, who could bring some three-point shooting help to the small forward position. In 108 games, Edwards has averaged 36.8% from deep, improving in year two to 37.2% on 2.8 attempts per game in 2025-2026.
They also liked the option of having three centers to utilize with Duren, Stewart, and Reed; maybe Ariel Hukporti or Adem Bona would interest them as a possible Reed replacement, while the ex-Sixer slides into Stewart’s old role.
The Sixers aren’t desperate at the four. They have LeBron James there, while investing nearly $40 million into Dean Wade to back him up. But you can’t go wrong with veteran depth. Wade is still a question mark on offense and has a notable history of dealing with setbacks that keep him off the court. Having a reliable third option at power forward could end up becoming an underrated need for the Sixers, especially if Barlow and Walker don’t show three-point shooting improvements.
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