4 Recently traded players the 76ers should regret missing out on
What was initially pegged to be a relatively quiet and stale trade deadline yesterday turned out to be quite the busy one. The Philadelphia 76ers had one of the most eventful days, striking on a slew of transactions that changed the optics of the roster, at least on the margins.
That being said, some recently traded players were shipped in exchange for rather surprising price tags, backing up the notion that perhaps, the 76ers should have also tried moving the needle for them. Here are four just-traded players whom the team itself should’ve traded for.
4 Recently traded players the 76ers should’ve traded for
1. Kelly Olynyk (Utah to Toronto)
With Joel Embiid out of commission for a significant chunk of the remaining games, the 76ers badly needed to strike a deal for some help in the big man position. However, Kelly Olynyk, one of the best centers available in the market, was nowhere even near the 76ers’ grasp, with the Utah Jazz trading him to the Toronto Raptors alongside Ochai Agbaji for a first-round pick.
Paying a first-rounder for Olynyk will be the banner statement by many, but really, Toronto made the gamble for Agbaji. Considering the other returnees headed to Utah (Otto Porter Jr. and Kira Lewis), one could argue that the 76ers could have matched or even exceeded that even without a young gun to banner a package by throwing in a lesser-valued first-rounder.
Olynyk is a floor-spacing center with nifty passing skills. He would have given a new dimension to the 76ers’ offense in a major contrast to what they’re getting from Paul Reed and Mo Bamba. That being said, Philly isn’t exactly to blame here, as the price tag was presumably something they didn’t want to match.