Jaden Springer and Overrating Young Players
Lastly, there is the Jaden Springer trade, which infuriated some. Springer was traded to the rival Boston Celtics for a second-round pick. The importance of replenishing second-round picks was mentioned previously, but it is also important to maximize a player's trade value. Jaden Springer belongs in the G-league and the Sixers were able to acquire an asset for him.
Year after year, fans around the league always overrate their young players. Yes, Springer is a very good defender and is extremely young despite being drafted three years ago, but that does not mean he should be in the NBA. He is one of the worst offensive players in the league. There is not a single aspect of offense that he does well or even at a mediocre level. He is a worse playmaker and shooter than even Patrick Beverley. Though he is a good defender, he is undersized and therefore can only guard similarly-sized players, and he fouls way too much. If he were to play more minutes, he would routinely foul out of games (not to mention that the team would probably be losing by twenty if he were playing more minutes). While he has great vertical athleticism, he can only jump off of two feet, which severely hinders him while attacking the basket, and he is quite slow.
It is understandable to like young players, there is always potential to get better and become an extremely valuable asset, but Springer has not shown any aspect of improvement so far in his three years in the league. Though some people considered him to be a draft-day steal, he was still the thirtieth pick. These types of players rarely get traded for an asset years later. This was an absolute gift from the Celtics and fans need to be honest with themselves about Jaden Springer.
There was a similar uproar when Matisse Thybulle and Ben Simmons (a lot less uproar with Simmons due to the circumstances) were traded. Once those two were traded, however, people realized it was fine, and despite them both having noticeable flaws in their games, they are both significantly better offensive and defensive players than Jaden Springer. That is how bad Springer is and fans will come to this realization shortly like when Zhaire Smith was traded to the Pistons.
Though there was nothing immensely significant done at the deadline, Morey made the right move in each of the four trades. It is not flashy, and fans will still be upset, but he has improved the team for this year and gave them a ton of flexibility to make blockbuster moves this summer.