Grade the Trade: 76ers make a savvy play for young wing in low-risk pitch

Why Philadelphia should do this trade

The 76ers has a pretty bold and stark organizational mandate to win a championship as soon as possible, and as conventional knowledge would imply, that means hoarding as much win-now talent as possible in the form of proven and veteran commodities. That, however, is already an olden thought.

Teams now and in the recent past have shown that it adds more to designing a sustainable brand to winning to bolster a win-now core with high-upside talent. Philadelphia, even on the margins, should try to go younger, and avoid settling for aging veterans with much more limited availability and restricted values. That’s not to say that they should avoid older players in general, but at this point, to extend their waning window, infusing the roster with young blood should be an active goal.

Moody, still just 22, touts legitimate potential as a starter-quality wing. The 76ers are currently depleted in that position with most of their players from last year hitting free agency, but Moody projects as an ideal kickstarter as the round out the roster with two-way options on the wing positions.

The idea of Moody is admittedly better than the current Moody, but his glimpses with the Warriors cannot be overlooked. He fits the archetype of a modern wing, playing above-average defense and capable of shooting with ease from anywhere on the floor, even attacking hard closeouts and finding seams to score. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Buddy Hield, both flight risks, have more limited ceilings compared to Moody, and for a minuscule draft pick in this year’s weak class, he’s arguably worth the swap.