Grade the Trade: 76ers snatch All-Star forward in sign-and-trade proposal

Why the 76ers should trade for Brandon Ingram

Philly’s quest for a legitimate third fiddle to make for an even more lethal core for the foreseeabel future has been well-documented. While Brandon Ingram has been mostly relegated to a Plan B option, there’s not a lot of bona fide and available stars who tout the staying power the forward does.

Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and LeBron James, three names linked to the 76ers in some way for quite a while now, are all aging stars who may not thrive as tertiary options. All of them are also bequeathed with availability issues — a wrinkle the franchise should avoid at all costs given that the injury bug has basically been their Achilles’ heel for years.

Ingram, one of the better all-around players in the NBA, is everything you can ask for a third star. His skill set is pretty moldable next to ball dominant stars like Embiid and Maxey, but he also packs enough individual punch to thrive as a primary option when needed. Ingram is also a pretty efficient, high-volume scorer who can function as a high-usage facilitator. His defense, when engaged, can bother anyone.

Accounting for the Pelicans’ hesitation to hand him a max extension, the 76ers could probably convince him to sign for a tad less than the max if it means playing for a potential championship contender on a long-term deal. In addition, the team’s outgoing pieces in this trade won’t make them flinch much, if at all.