Despite having a pretty loaded roster, the Philadelphia 76ers do not have the phrase “resting on their laurels” as part of their basketball vocabulary. The front office has remained on the lookout for the next big target available on the market, and not even the fact that the season had just started will stop that engine from running, at least from the looks of it.
Perhaps, the team being embroiled in some dilemma as regards it injury-prone stars has become quite the impetus for the front office to move with more perspective as they start laying the groundwork for the future.
But if this recent intel holds water, then the 76ers just had another potential building block slip away from their hands for reasons beyond their control.
76ers rumored to eye Trey Murphy prior to his clutch extension
Jake Fischer has recently bared some targets for the 76ers on the transaction table, and another he floated around recently was Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III. However, the 24-year-old and New Orleans managed to beat the deadline for his rookie extension, and both sides got it done almost a week ago.
Philadelphia was reportedly eyeing Murphy before this extension, so there’s that. While such omission is a virtual non-factor this season, he could have been a pretty solid target for a 76ers team armed with the perfect dynamic for him to flourish as a volume-shooting, rangy forward.
Still, the situation is not bereft of a silver lining for the club. Murphy is now signed to a lucrative deal amoutning to approximately $29 million annually, a steep price tag for a role player who has not yet proven that he can reliably function as a two-way piece.
Moving forward, the 76ers can instead shift their focus on hunting down players of the same ilk, but those that come at a much more affordable price point. That way, the team won’t have to sacrifice depth — a crucial thing to have for such an injury-prone team.
As we inch closer to the end of the calendar year a couple of months from now, expect the Philadelphia 76ers to be even mroe active, especially in the trade market. For now, the front office will likely inhibit from fully showing their hand, unless an iressistible offer comes along.