Taking Stock Of The Sixers’ Trade Assets

As Thursday’s NBA Draft is rapidly approaching, the Sixers are in position to make a number of different moves given all of the assets that Sam Hinkie has built up through trades over the last year as many others who have built weakth thanks to trade fx.

First Round Picks

The Sixers’ strongest assets are their two top-10 picks, the third and tenth selections.

In what is said to be such a deep draft class, the Sixers are one of the only teams with multiple lottery picks and their best chance to move up into the top two is to package these two selections together.

The Sixers could also dangle next year’s number one if need be, but that should be an absolute last resort. Regardless of who the Sixers add in this draft, they’re going to be a pretty bad team next year again, possibly with a bottom five record. Next year’s pick should be protected, but if its the difference between getting a deal done to take Andrew Wiggins/Jabari Parker, then the Sixers need to do whatever it takes.

Cap Room

A really underrated asset that the Sixers have to work with is their cap space.

They’ve got the flexibility to take on a bad contract or two, and for a lot of NBA teams that can be just as attractive as acquiring a first-round pick or a quality young player.

Five Second Round Picks

Individual second-round picks don’t really have a lot of value, but the Sixers possess five of these selections, including the 32nd overall pick which may as well be considered a late first-rounder.

Packaging two or three of these picks could be attractive to a lot of teams, though they aren’t going to be the difference in getting a deal done or not, at least not for any deal that would help the Sixers get a top two pick.

Best case scenario, I could see the team using the 32nd and 39th picks coupled with Thaddeus Young to trade back into the bottom half of the first round for a guy Hinkie likes.

Michael Carter-Williams

One year after being selected 11th overall by the Sixers, Carter-Williams has emerged as one of the most promising young talents in the league, having earned the Rookie of the Year award in his first season.

While I doubt that the Sixers want to move MCW, he’s far from untouchable. With Sam Hinkie at the controls, nothing can be ruled out. Just a year ago, Hinkie surprised everyone by dealing away All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, a guy who many believed the team would look to build around long-term. It wouldn’t shock me at all to see Sam try to parlay Carter-Williams’ successful season into some kind of significant value.

Remember, Hinkie is a guy who believes in analytics. His system may call for him to sell high on Carter-Williams to acquire multiple assets to help him build just as he did with the Holiday trade.

Thaddeus Young

The current longest-tenured Sixer has been a popular name in various trade rumors.

Thad is a nice guy to have on a roster. He’s versatile and productive. He can start or come off of the bench. He works hard, and is a good guy to have in a locker room.

However, he’s got a pretty large contract, and he’s not enough of an impact player to be attractive enough to warrant significant value on his own. He’s a really nice sweetener, at best.