76ers trade options

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Sixers Mailbag: Jahlil Okafor trade options, Fultz update, biggest surprise.

There were so many responses to this edition of the Sixers Mailbag, that we needed a Part Two of the Q&A. Check out the answers from Part One.

What's more likely to happen!! Finding a trade partner for Jalil and getting a return or does he get a flat out release. ?

The Sixers have been looking for a trade partner for Jahlil Okafor for a while now. No team wants to just cut ties with a player and get nothing in return, especially when that player was a third overall pick only three drafts ago.

I’d expect the Sixers to stay active in trying to work out a deal. Now that could include just Okafor, or it could be a package deal with Okafor and a player or Okafor and a pick to make it work.

The tricky thing is, Okafor’s value isn’t going up. He has made it very clear he wants out of Philadelphia. He is hitting free agency next summer. On top of that, he has appeared in just two games, most recently picking up three fouls in as many minutes against the Jazz.

There are teams around the league where he could fit in as an offensive-minded center, but it’s going to be about reaching a common ground in trade talks.

Any update on time table for Markelle?

Markelle Fultz is about halfway through the time period before his next reevaluation. The Sixers announced on Oct. 29 Fultz is out indefinitely (right shoulder soreness and scapular muscle imbalance). That day, the team also announced Fultz will be reevaluated in “approximately” three weeks by Dr. Ben Kibler, whom Fultz previously met with in Kentucky. Today is just under two weeks from that update. In the meantime, Fultz is receiving treatment with the Sixers and being monitored by the staff.

After ten games, what is the biggest surprise and disappointment for the team so far? #SixersMailBag.

The biggest surprise by far is how quickly the team has gelled, especially when you look at how many significant changes were made to the roster and starting five in particular.

The starting point guard is a 6-foot-10 rookie who had never played in the NBA and was coming off a season-long foot injury. Ben Simmons didn’t have trouble assuming the floor-general role, nor did he have lingering effects from his foot fracture. To date, he has recorded seven double-doubles and a pair of triple-doubles.

The Sixers implemented a new backcourt with Jerryd Bayless, also coming back from a season-long injury (wrist), and JJ Redick, who had to adjust to a whole new team. Brett Brown went with a three-guard lineup to start the season and has had success with Redick back at shooting guard and Bayless coming in off the bench.

Robert Covington, a mainstay from last season, switched from small forward to power forward to start the season. A few games in, Brown moved Covington back to the three and found a winning formula with Dario Saric starting at the four.

Joel Embiid has played more minutes than expected (averaging 27.6) in his first month playing since knee surgery last March. That number surpasses the projection that prompted him to express frustration early on.

The biggest disappointment has been the injury to Fultz. Another . rookie . injury. The Sixers are clicking, but it has been without the 2017 No. 1 pick. Fultz’s injury leaves a lot of uncertainties: How will he perform when he returns, how will his shoulder hold up, how will be fit into the Sixers' system and what does that mean for the other guards?

In an ideal situation for the Sixers, they would be playing this well with a healthy squad so they know exactly what the team looks like when everyone is available. That helps to better plan for the future rather than waiting for questions to be answered.

76ers Gaming Club to participate in NBA 2K League.

76ers Gaming Club to participate in NBA 2K League.

The 76ers Gaming Club is Philadelphia’s latest professional esports brand.

Set to compete in the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League, the fresh new esports brand — which was officially released on Thursday by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — maintains the Sixers' classic style, which includes seven stars circling around a bell made up of the numbers seven and six.

“We are excited to unveil 76ers GC’s new brand identity as we welcome another dynamic sports property to the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment family,” said Chris Heck, Philadelphia 76ers President of Business Operations. “Working alongside the NBA 2K League, we developed a brand identity that pays homage to the revolutionary origins of this city, speaks to the new Philadelphia fan and exemplifies the edge of the esports audience.”

Aggressive in its pursuit of esports investment opportunities, HBSE, already owners of Team Dignitas, a highly respected competitive esports club, bought into NBA 2K League with 16 other NBA franchises back in May.

76ers GC joins Kings Guard Gaming (Sacramento Kings), Pistons GT (Detroit Pistons), Pacers Gaming (Indiana Pacers), Mavs Gaming (Dallas Mavericks), Cavs Legion GC (Cleveland Cavaliers), Wizards District Gaming (Washington Wizards), Magic Gaming (Orlando Magic), Jazz Gaming (Utah Jazz), Blazer5 Gaming (Portland Trailblazers) and Celtics Gaming (Boston Celtics). Also included will be the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks.

While 76ers GC was born to participate in NBA 2K League, it should be noted that the name “76ers Gaming Club” is void of any mention or image of basketball or NBA 2K. This leaves open the possibility of 76ers GC adding more competitive games and gamers under its brand in the future.

NBA 2K League is a professional esports league co-founded by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., the creator of North America’s most popular sports title, NBA 2K. Players will receive a competitive salary and benefits. The league will begin its inaugural season, featuring five-on-five competition in May, following official player tryouts and a live player draft set for March.

Best of NBA: Thunder carry George to win in Indiana return.

Best of NBA: Thunder carry George to win in Indiana return.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George made a winning return to Indiana, hitting the clinching free throws with 10.7 seconds left in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 100-95 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday night.

Steven Adams had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Russell Westbrook finished with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in his ninth triple-double this season. The Thunder have won two straight on the road.

Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 19 points and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15. Indiana had a chance to tie the score after getting the ball back with 15.2 seconds left but committed a turnover and then fouled George.

The Pacers' winning streak ended at four.

But the highly anticipated matchup between George and Oladipo, the key components in last summer's blockbuster trade, didn't go as expected.

George was booed loudly during introductions and every time he touched the ball. Fans only cheered for George when he was called for a foul or made a mistake and it seemed to take a toll on the four-time All-Star. He finished 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting, had two rebounds and four turnovers.

Oladipo, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, didn't have a typical night either. He was 9 of 26 with five rebounds and six assists (see full recap) .

Wizards top Grizzlies in Wall’s return.

WASHINGTON -- Bradley Beal scored 18 points and John Wall had 13 in his return from a sore knee to help the Washington Wizards hold off the Memphis Grizzlies 93-87 on Wednesday night.

Beal scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three 3-pointers. Otto Porter Jr. added 14 points, and Marcin Gortat had 12.

Wall missed nine games, with Washington going 4-5 in his absence.

After the Grizzlies took their first lead of the night, 67-65, on James Ennis III's 3-pointer with 8:53 left to play, Washington responded with a 13-0 run and Memphis got no closer than 83-80 the rest of the way.

Andrew Harrison led Memphis with 20 points, JaMychal Green had 15 points and15 rebounds, and Marc Gasol had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Grizzlies have lost five straight and 16 out of 17 (see full recap) .

Lillard leads way as Blazers rally past Heat.

MIAMI -- Damian Lillard scored seven of his 18 points in the final 3:16, and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to break their five-game losing streak, beating the Miami Heat 102-95 on Wednesday night.

Lillard, who came into the game averaging 26.6 points, had only one field goal in the first 31 minutes. But he converted a three-point play put the Trail Blazers ahead to stay, 98-95, and sank two free throws on their next possession for a five-point lead.

CJ McCollum scored 28 points for the Trail Blazers (14-13). They climbed back above .500 and improved to 7-5 on the road. The Heat (13-14) fell below .500 and dropped to 5-7 at home.

Miami reserve Wayne Ellington sank seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 24 points. Dion Waiters added 17 points for the Heat, who were hurt by three missed free throws down the stretch.

Both teams were short-handed. Heat forward Justise Winslow left the game in the first half with a left knee strain and did not return, and guard Tyler Johnson sat out because of a migraine.

Miami was also without center Hassan Whiteside for a seventh consecutive games because of a bone bruise in his left knee (see full recap) .

Is Trading Up An Option For The Philadelphia 76ers?

There are a lot of potential outcomes from the NBA Draft Lottery. If the Philadelphia 76ers fell in the draft order, would they look to trade back up?

The Philadelphia 76ers cannot count on the luck of the draw. For example, If the Philadelphia 76ers were unfortunate enough to fall beyond their slotted number four pick, would the team be content? Or does that trigger the 76ers to trade up to get a guy they want? It needn’t be all the way up to select the consensus number one pick Markelle Fultz. Perhaps it’s simply up far enough to select either a Jayson Tatum or Malik Monk?

More from The Sixer Sense.

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Furthermore, if the worst case scenario happens, how do the Philadelphia 76ers respond? In fact, If the 76ers fall to pick number six, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to learn that they use their arsenal of assets and trade up.

Need Willing Trade Partner.

But that effort could be in vain. After all,

I’m not sure if a team in the top five would be willing to trade down due to the franchise changing talent available. but if the 76ers came in with the right offer then who knows what could happen.

It is important, however, for the 76ers to not pull a Chicago Bears and drastically overpay to move up one spot. Colangelo must be smart, he has repeatedly said he will not make a move for the sake of making a move, I trust him on this. He was reluctant to trade Okafor and Noel for less value in return, perhaps he panicked on the Trade Deadline. Hopefully there will be no more brash trades like this.

Trade Idea.

For this hypothetical trade, the Orlando Magic gets lucky at the lottery and jump up to number two and the 76ers fall to six. They have a lot of holes on their roster, they could do with assets to help rebuild the organization.

Jahlil Okafor will have a chance to revive his career with the Magic, magic is what is needed to save Okafor’s career. And due to having the Sacramento Kings’ first round pick in 2019, the 76ers’ pick is expendable; the 76ers should be a playoff team by them, as long as Bryan Colangelo trusts the process.

In recent years we’ve seen the sort of deals the Magic make when they are on the clock. In short, they tend to get fleeced… a lot. On one hand, hopefully the 76ers can take advantage of this and jump to number two and get Lonzo Ball or Jayson Tatum.

Trade Scenario Two.

On the other hand, they could use the number two pick as leverage to make a deal for a superstar like Paul George . I’m not sure how likely that would be, but hey, this is all hypothetical.

In this reality, the 76ers get a star to help make a playoff push, I’m not the biggest Paul George because he doesn’t come across as a leader, he quite often blames his teammates, but to win in the NBA you need a superstar.

In addition, the Pacers get a high draft pick to help accelerate their quick rebuild. This could be a similar situation to the Minnesota Timberwolves after they traded away Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett .

All in all, it is unlikely for any of this to actually happen, but its always fun to talk about “what if?” scenarios.

Philadelphia 76ers: Updated trade options for Jahlil Okafor.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

3. Atlanta Hawks.

Having made the playoffs for the past 10 years, the Hawks have perennially been among the stronger performing teams in the Eastern Conference. The downside to this is that during this span, the Hawks have not had the luxury of possessing high-end draft picks. The last time they had a high-end selection was in 2007, when they selected Al Horford with the No. 3 overall pick.

The Hawks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer is recognized as one of the premier offensive tacticians in the game. Having lost Horford to free agency last summer, and most recently Paul Millsap, Budenholzer and the Hawks are clearly in the rebuilding stage. Given his age, talent level, and potential upside, taking a flier on Okafor should be a serious consideration for a Hawks team desperate for talent.

At present, the Hawks’ frontline consists of Mike Muscala, recently acquired journeyman Miles Plumlee, another recently acquired center in Diamond Stone, and the No. 19 overall selection from this year’s draft, John Collins.

Despite possessing some upside, the players mentioned simply don’t compare with Okafor. Having spent 17 seasons as an assistant coach for there San Antonio Spurs, defense is a high priority for Budenholzer, and he would be well aware that this is simply not an area in which Okafor excels. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.

Last season, the Sixers had a defensive rating of 109.5 when Okafor was on the floor, which improved to 105.1 when he was resting. But a recent test case could encourage Budeholzer to take a flier on the 21-year-old. The now departed Tim Hardaway Jr. was all at sea when he arrived in Atlanta, on the defensive end in particular.

However, after a stint in the D-League, Hardaway Jr. returned with a better understanding of what it took become a reliable contributor under Budenholzer’s system.

At present, the Hawks potentially have three first-round selections in 2018. One of those selections is coming from the Minnesota Timberwolves as a result of the 2015 deal that sent Adreian Payne to the Timberwolves. The pick, top-14 protected, can be sent to the Hawks in any draft between 2018-20, after which time it will automatically turn into two second-round selections.

With the Hawks having used a plethora of mid-first round picks over the past decade, forgoing on one of these to acquire a player with the potential of Okafor should be a no-brainer.