Grade the Trade: 76ers acquire elite sharpshooter in this low-cost proposal

Why the 76ers should trade for Luke Kennard

Joel Embiid’s injury leaves the 76ers a 35.3 points per game-sized void to fill on the offensive end. Tyrese Maxey has slid in as the first option on his behalf, but his climb in the pecking order will almost certainly incentivize teams to double down and gang up on the first-time All-Star defensively to control his nightly damage output.

Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. have been the second and third leading scorers since Philly lost the reigning MVP, but both have been inconsistent as of late. Beyond those two, the 76ers have a sheer dearth of reliable scorers. Everyone else has averaged single-digits in scoring during that span.

Here’s where Luke Kennard comes in. A career 43.8 percent three-point shooter on good volume, he’s an elite floor-spacer who can punish defenses for doing double duty on defense against Maxey and Harris. He’s not the shot creator they are, but the 27-year-old can put up points in a hurry by simply relocating and finding open spots for optimal three-point shots — something the 76ers don’t have much of as a bottom-five team in threes made per game.

Better yet, trading for Kennard does nothing to the 76ers’ sacrosanct financial flexibility for free agency in the summer. After all, he has a club option for next season which can be either declined outright or further flipped for assets. His in-demand skill set should almost guarantee a suitor of two at the very least.

Dangling Robert Covington, who was seldom used and is currently nursing an injury, and Furkan Korkmaz, who has been in the doghouse all season long, shouldn’t hurt. The second-rounder is there to incentivize Memphis to sell hard while they seek flexibility for free agency to aid their injured team for the foreseeable future.