Widely pegged as the offseason’s biggest winners, the Philadelphia 76ers probably do not have the word regret on their lexicon at the present. After all, a team with two, bona fide stars which added a third one and a slew of desirable role players would be disingenuous to still pout.
The NBA summer is still far from over, though. The 76ers themselves still have something on their to-do list with a handful of roster spots still available for taking. Their rivals continue to make moves that constantly shift the consensus. It’s a cycle that only ends in October.
Having said that, Philly could very well end up regretting how they blew this tremendous opportunity later on.
The 76ers could deeply regret staying idle on the Gary Trent Jr. train
One player puzzlingly left in the cold in free agency was Gary Trent Jr. However, it seems like the Bucks have now called dibs on the 25-year-old’s services in one of the biggest discounts in recent memory.
Despite a very productive campaign as the Raptors’ designated three-and-D staple, Trent Jr. declined a considerable offer from Toronto, which eventually backfired. Now, nearly all teams have no financial legroom, and the young wing is now settling for a one-year, prove-it deal with Milwaukee.
If that was the price he was gonna end up with anyway, the 76ers made a big miscalculation not getting into the action. They are currently operating without a full-fledged, starting-caliber shooting guard, and Trent Jr. would have been a perfect sidekick to Tyrese Maxey in the backcourt with his volume three-point shooting and perimeter defense.
Instead, the widely-coveted wing (at least among contenders) now heads to a Bucks team that desperately needed help at the positon. And just like that, pundits are now high on Milwaukee’s prospect as a title contender next season. Put simply, a key 76ers rival just got better when they could have easily snagged his services.