The Philadelphia 76ers have had terrible luck to begin the season. Not too long after the end of a grueling cycle of their stars seemingly alternating injuries — the main impetus behind their very underwhelming start — the team once again succumbed to two, novel injuries to their top dogs. That’s not even to account for the across-the-board decline from almost everyone else.
As luck would have it, during their latest loss to the Indiana Pacers, the injury bug sought to throw a double wrench for the struggling squad by taking not only Joel Embiid, whom the team lost to a sinus fracture, but also Jared McCain, who was just announced to have suffered a torn meniscus that would prompt surgery and keep him out of commission indefinitely.
The 76ers are not in a position to lose both players simultaneously, but the opening of the trade market meant the front office would be able to fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, ill timing screwed them as usual, as the perfect player to trade for had already gone elsewhere just when Philly needed him.
The 76ers got screwed by missing out on trading for Dennis Schroder
Just an hour before the 76ers announced that McCain would be out indefinitely, the Warriors were able to finesse the Nets into trading Dennis Schroder to them for chump change consisting of the injured De’Anthony Melton and three second-round picks.
Talk about a maddening turn of events.
Had the McCain development been unveiled sooner, the front office could have made a more convincing attempt to pry Schroder away from the Nets. Even when the rookie was healthy, the 76ers were in dire need of shot creation and playmaking off the bench. Now, his absence cranks the need up to a 10.
With full liberty this season, Schroder has allowed the Nets, which were widely expected to flame out very quickly this season, to carve out a very respectable start. Yet his contract situation made it that it would not make a lot of sense for Brooklyn to keep him any longer, especially with the franchise being more inclined to make a hard pivot to a full-blown reset.
Somehow, Golden State managed to convince them into a heist of the grandest proportions. That Philadelphia was screwed by this ill-timing could not be any more frustrating for the enjoyers of hypotheticals.
Now, the Philadelphia 76ers will have to make do with a not-so-flattering selection of backcourt options. While there are still some attractive ones out there, none compare to Dennis Schroder, who now heads to a key playoff fixture instead of potentially helping the franchise out.