5 Best trade targets the Philadelphia 76ers should monitor next season

With less than a month remaining before the 2024-25 season opens with the training camp, the Philadelphia 76ers will soon be one step closer to kicking off what should be a pretty eventful campaign. The roster is set for now, but the front office still has some legroom to make a move or two in the coming months.

The trade engine should be a bit quiet until the midseason point, but given the mercurial nature of the NBA, things can change in a moment’s notice. That is especially true when your team president is Daryl Morey, a singular pot-stirrer who can flesh out some surprising moves up his sleeve. He surely knows better than all of us, but here are the five best players the 76ers can trade for right now.

5. Derrick Jones Jr. would bolster a still-frail forward rotation for the 76ers

After a solid campaign last season as a starter for an NBA Finalist, Derrick Jones Jr. somehow took a bargain pivot in free agency, ending up with the LA Clippers. Despite the latter losing Paul George to Philly, all signs point to a full-blown winning edict still in place, though that may not subsist as long as expected.

A nucleus composed of an aging and incredibly injury-prone Kawhi Leonard and a declining James Harden simply makes little viability as an actual title contender. Hence, there’s a non-zero chance that the Clippers would hold a fire sale in the foreseeable future, especially if their stars fail to pass the durability test for the nth time.

If so, the 76ers should make a play for Jones. An athletic freak, he has grown into one of the most reliable defenders in the league and was a big reason why the Mavericks made it to the Finals last season. So long as his three-point shot remains functional, even if marginal, he would be a very solid addition to a team still needing some more bodies at forward.