The Philadelphia 76ers were expected to go big-game hunting when NBA free agency opened last week. Thus far, that has not been the case with front office head Daryl Morey adding P.J. Tucker, Danuel House and De’Anthony Melton to the mix.
Could this change soon? Certainly.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, Philadelphia is one of the teams interested in acquiring Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving. Charania also mentions the Dallas Mavericks as another suitor.
There’s certainly a lot of layers to this recent report. Right now, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Irving will head to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for a package surrounding Russell Westbrook. Perhaps, the Nets are leaking this story to up the ante when it comes to what the Lakers might offer up for Irving. Perhaps, the interest is real. We have no idea.
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How a Kyrie Irving trade to the Philadelphia 76ers might look
The sticking point here could be Philadelphia’s unwillingness to give up young guard Tyrese Maxey in any trade for Irving. Outside of that, there’s not a whole lot the 76ers could offer up in terms of young assets.
Matisse Thybulle, Jaden Springer and Charles Bassey likely don’t move the needle too much for Brooklyn in potential trade talks.
Of course, Tobias Harris and his bloated contract would have to head to Brooklyn in order for the finances to work. From there, the 76ers could offer up first-round picks in 2026 and 2028 to make this worth Brooklyn’s while.
Remember, they still owe the Nets two first-round picks stemming from the deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia for a package surrounding Ben Simmons back in February.
There’s also this thing called fit. Irving and Harden did not necessarily pan out during their short time together in Brooklyn. Is this a pairing that even makes sense for the Philadelphia 76ers?