Thanks to their barrage of flashy signings, the Philadelphia 76ers have created so much buzz as free agency’s undisputed winner this year, even though the market remains open. The roster remains incomplete, though, leaving the front office with some smaller, yet equally important boxes to check for the following weeks.
At this juncture, though, the 76ers have to get more creative filling out the roster. They only have a shade under $10 million in cap space left, and splitting that up to lure in key contributors could prove to be a tall task. Thus, here are four players they should trade for with the offseason entering its midsection.
4. Dorian Finney-Smith is the ideal 3-and-D forward for the 76ers
George’s foray into Philly pumps much-needed defensive augmenting for the 76ers, but at 34 years old, it’s not realistic to expect him to be an elite perimeter defender any longer —- that is, if he hasn’t regressed in that department yet. Nic Batum’s departure doesn’t help either, as the team just lost a rangy, heady defender,
Enter Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the league’s hottest commodities right now on the trade market. While the 76ers risk sapping their remaining cap space to absorb his contract, the pros of having him aboard arguably outweigh the cons associated with dealing for him.
Finney-Smith is a very adept one-on-one defender who can guard nearly anyone with his superb anticipation and veteran smarts. At 6’7”, he can latch onto guards, wings, and nominal bigs, and even better, he’s not a negligible player offensively, as his volume three-point shooting shows.
3. Pat Connaughton would give Philly a reliable, do-it-all wing
As of speaking, the 76ers don’t really have a clear-cut option at shooting guard. Eric Gordon is way too old to man a prominent role and Kelly Oubre Jr. is a risky gamble to trot out at the off-guard position.
The 76ers, with the firepower they boast, don’t really need another flamethrower. Thus, they could explore the possibility of trading for Bucks wing Pat Connaughton, a do-it-all, intangibles guy who, despite the lack of pizzazz in his counting stats, does all the dirty work and the subtle things a team need from a role player.
Connaughton, a staple in Milwaukee for quite a while now, is like Batum without the lengthy frame and the croissant. While not a flashy scorer with his low usage rate, he’s a respectable three-point shooter and a good connective passer. His defense is competent thanks to his effort, and overall, he has great court sense.
2. Christian Wood could be productive in a second 76ers stint
We’ve been one of the bigger advocates for 76ers-related reunions this offseason, and while the front office has no reason to let sentiment and brief histories percolate into their plans, one ex-Sixer actually makes sense as a low-cost trade target.
Remember Christian Wood who kicked off his up-and-down career in Philadelphia? Well, there may be some logic to pursuing a reunion with the big man. While clearly an offense-first guy who fares very poorly in ancillary roles, the 28-year-old actually registered glimpses of success last season when paired with Anthony Davis as a nominal power forward.
The 76ers badly need legitimate power forwards right now, and while Wood may be more commonly perceived as a center, his skill set screams 4. Despite a down year offensively, he’s still a pretty savvy rim runner who can step out and hit from distance, something the team utterly lacks in their big man rotation outside of Joel Embiid.
1. Santi Aldama gives the team more variance in its big man rotation
Speaking of the 76ers’ big man rotation, while the Andre Drummond signing and the Adem Bona drafting are commendable, the fact that the team banners Joel Embiid as their head poncho should be more than enough for the front office to try and double down on depth behind the 2023 Most Valuable Player.
A better option than Wood in this case would be Santi Aldama, who is now facing a crowded frontcourt rotation in Memphis thanks to the arrival of Zach Edey and what’s expected to be a cleaner bill of health across the board for the Grizzlies.
Still young and not so costly, the Spaniard would be a nice under-the-radar trade acquisition for Philly. He’s a competent defender who’s largely a floor-spacer on the scoring end, and despite his rebounding issues, Nick Nurse would be well-served having a guy like Aldama who can fit into various configurations.