Four Sixers Trade Targets Now That December 15th Is Here

They wouldn’t really bring him back would they?

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

---

We have officially reached December 15, a pivotal date in the NBA’s calendar each year. This is the point at which free agents from this past offseason become eligible to be traded, giving every team considerably more options to maneuver and tweak their roster.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, this season there are 74 players who just became eligible to be dealt now that we have reached this mark, making 88 percent of all NBA players acquirable.

We’re probably still about a month away from trade rumors really heating up, but as trade season kicks off and the Sixers stand about one third through their regular season, it seems like a good time to take our first look at what the market might look like as Daryl Morey and his front office prepare to attempt to bolster their roster in hopes of avoiding another disappointing playoff exit.

Kelly Oubre Jr. (one year, $12.6M)
Oubre Jr. was the first name I earmarked as a potential Sixers target this season. At his salary, the Sixers can make the money work by trading Furkan Korkmaz and either Matisse Thybulle or Danuel House Jr.

Oubre Jr. is averaging 21.1 points per game this season, by far a career-best. But that has come in a highly-inefficient manner on ridiculously high volume that has been forced upon him due to several injuries suffered by key members of the Charlotte Hornets.

Typically, you’d expect a much larger haul for someone averaging more than 20 points per game. But the book has essentially been written on Oubre Jr. by now: he best fits on a team where he can play off the ball, have a quick trigger on threes and serve as a well-built, athletic wing that could make an impact on the defensive end.

Oubre Jr. is a flawed player, and I’m not suggesting that he should be the team’s primary target. But between his attainable salary, physical tools, three-point volume and Charlotte’s 7-21 record, he feels like a very realistic candidate for Morey.

Jae Crowder (one year, $10.1M)
Crowder would be a wonderful fit in Philadelphia, though it remains to be seen how he will look this season -- Crowder has been away from the Phoenix Suns while they attempt to find a trade destination for the frustrated wing who has started on two NBA Finals participants in recent years.

At a similar salary to Oubre Jr., he is easily-attainable from a financial standpoint. But while Oubre Jr. can be a useful rotation player on a great team in theory, Crowder has shown that he can do it on several occasions. He is not an All-Defense candidate, but he is a rock-solid wing defender with the size and strength to defend some of the league’s most elite wings.

Cedi Osman (two years, $14.1M)
Osman is someone I have suggested as a possible Sixers target a handful of times over the last few years. Ironically, the purpose of trading for him would likely be upgrading from Korkmaz, his fellow Turk and good friend.

Osman won’t blow anybody away. But, like Korkmaz, he has a quick trigger from beyond the arc -- his efficiency from deep is not quite as good as that of Korkmaz, but Osman is far more reliable than Korkmaz in just about every other facet of basketball, frankly.

With another season under contract after this one, Osman could become a multi-year rotation piece, even if he isn’t relied upon much in the playoffs. If things were to not work out, however, the team could easily move off his fairly-negligible salary, or use him as salary filler in a later deal.

Andre Drummond (two years, $6.5M)
How fun would this be? Drummond was incredibly enjoyable to watch as a Sixer -- his bizarre trick passes (both successful and failed), his stable presence before being traded and his iconic tip-in made his Sixers tenure chaotic in the perfect way.

Drummond is currently serving as the backup center for a Chicago Bulls team that had high hopes, but currently sits at 11-16. If they end up rebuilding, or at least retooling, he could easily be on the move for a team coveting reliable backup center play.

In a perfect world, the Sixers won’t need Drummond because they’ll have solidified the backup center spot with Paul Reed (or even Montrezl Harrell). Reed is a rotation player in the making in my eyes, and Harrell has some noteworthy strengths as a regular season player.

But as we near the start of 2023, neither Reed nor Harrell has been able to hang onto the job for more than a handful of games at a time. The Sixers would be disappointed if it had to come to this, but if it does, Drummond’s return would be tremendous -- especially because of what would likely be a seamless fit with James Harden.