Just like clockwork, the 2023-24 NBA season is nearing its end with the advent of the much-awaited NBA Finals. But for the 28 other teams, which include the Philadelphia 76ers, the normally dreaded long break will be a king-sized opportunity for them to find ways to be the ones on the remaining two teams’ position next year.
Among all teams, only Detroit is projected to free up more cap space than Philadelphia this offseason — a massive luxury for a win-now franchise with a pretty open championship window behind one-time MVP Joel Embiid and this season’s breakout star in Tyrese Maxey. What this means is that the 76ers will have a wider array of tools to improve their roster and mount a more competitive bid for the foreseeable future, that is, assuming they make the right moves.
Expect the Philadelphia 76ers to be the most aggressive win-now team this summer
Unsurprisingly, the 76ers have been the most frequent customer in the rumor mill as of late, with most stars projected to become available this summer finding their names etched in the team’s contrived compendium of targets. After all, the front office has the necessary cap space to make a big signing or absorb a big contract, as well as the draft capital to sweeten the pot if necessary.
This time, though, we shift to some of the more understated moves Philadelphia can make, especially on the margins. The team knows better than to pump all of their resources on an expensive name, and role players will be of utmost importance in their quest to be a finalist next season. Here is one trade that has them plucking a young wing off the market for cheap.
76ers trade for Warriors’ Moses Moody in this B/R proposal
In this trade proposal recently baked by Bleached Report, the Philadelphia 76ers make a direct one-on-one swap with the Golden State Warriors, sending their 16th overall pick in this year’s draft to the Dubs for young wing Moses Moody.
Moody, a lottery pick three years ago in the 2021 NBA Draft, has yet to carve out a consistent role in Golden State three years into his career, thanks in large part to his team’s preference for veterans and the sheer number of players above him in the depth chart.
This season, Moody turned in career-highs across the board, but no one will mistake him for a breakout star. He rarely sniffed the court when it mattered the most, and at this juncture, it may be becoming clear that the Warriors don’t have his development atop their priority list given their core’s timeline.
Should the 76ers try and endorse themselves as the team that could potentially help him unlock his potential? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this deal.
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.
Why the 76ers shouldn’t do this trade
Unfortunately, the reasons provided as to why the 76ers should trade for Moody are purely based on his promise, a future version of himself. For now, there lies only a fickle argument for his ability to be a steady contributor on a team potentially just one big piece or breakout away from the championship. Put simply, Mooody remains a project piece.
But Philadelphia has minimal need to host a reclamation project. Players, especially lottery picks, should have already shown tangible growth three seasons into their careers, and Moody hasn’t quite shown any significant leap. Sure, there hasn’t been any attendant leap minutes-wise for him to showcase his development, but court time is earned, and he hasn’t earned his laurels to be a staple in Golden State.
It’s probably a red flag that Brandin Podziemski, a non-lottery selection by the Warriors this season, quickly usurped him in their pecking order. Hence, it would be a wiser move for the 76ers to simply draft a possible contributor at No. 16, even in a star-lacking class and unshackle them from being in a pressured position of also extending Moody beyond this season to justify their dangling of a draft asset.
Also, their draft pick could have better use cases, such as being annexed as a pot sweetener to snag a third star in sign-and-trade scenarios, or to make a play for a starting-caliber veteran to fill more pressing roster holes. Objectively speaking, it makes little sense for the 76ers to take a flier on a project piece when they can simply draft one.
Grade: C+