The James Harden trade is complete for the 76ers, but the team’s roster moves might not be done yet.
In getting Harden off the roster, Philadelphia gained a bunch of expiring contracts, two first-round picks (one protected, one unprotected), a pick swap and two second-rounders. That sets the franchise up nicely to make another move down the line, which is reportedly the plan.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers wanted to get draft picks back from Harden in order to “give them a chance to pursue another high-level guard in a trade to partner with MVP Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey this season.”
The 76ers also have their own 2030 first-round pick available in a trade, giving them three future firsts and a ton of second-round picks to work with.
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Philadelphia’s trade target isn’t clear yet, but good players become available every year at the deadline. The 76ers now have the matching salary and draft capital to pull off a move that could help them in two months’ time.
The two month restriction is important to note — Article VII, Section 6(j)(4)(i) of the collective bargaining agreement states that they need to wait that long before aggregating their newly-acquired players in a future trade. That still gives them plenty of time to get a trade off before the February deadline, but it also means that an imminent trade is not forthcoming.
The rumors have already started on who the 76ers could acquire. According to SI’s Chris Mannix, there is early chatter around Zach LaVine and O.G. Anunoby eventually ending up in Philadelphia. Both would make a ton of sense on this roster, and they could theoretically be made available given the struggles of their teams.
LaVine would give the 76ers a great scoring threat. He’s capable of playing away from the ball given how fantastic he is as a spot-up shooter — he hit 41.6 percent of those looks from 3 last year, per NBA Stats. He’s one of the most dynamic drivers and finishers in the game as well. Not many teams have two elite perimeter defenders, which they would need to combat a LaVine-Maxey backcourt.
Anunoby would be more of a natural fit. He’s a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate who led the league last year in steals per game. He’s also a great off-ball threat, hitting 37.5 percent of his 3s for his career. And his familiarity with 76ers head coach Nick Nurse from their Toronto days would help ease that transition.
Anunoby has a player option that he will surely not exercise for next season, so a deal for him would have to include reassurances that he would agree to a new deal with the 76ers.
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If the 76ers do hold onto those expiring contracts rather than trading them, then they would clear up a ton of room this summer to go big game hunting. Trading away P.J. Tucker’s $11.0 million guaranteed salary for next season was a sneakily important part of the Harden trade, as it gives them potentially over $65 million of cap space to sign a free agent next summer, per Spotrac’s Keith Smith.
That $65 million is enough to sign one max-level player and still have enough to add another handful of solid rotation pieces around a core of Embiid and Maxey. They would also be in a great spot as the only contending team with enough projected cap space to add a maximum-level player, per Spotrac.
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Klay Thompson is set to hit free agency this summer, and he and the Warriors aren’t particularly close on negotiations. Thompson would be a fantastic fit next to Embiid and Maxey, giving those two maximum spacing with his off-ball shooting.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George surprisingly have not come to agreements on extensions with the Clippers. If their experiment goes sideways yet again after adding Harden, then they could be on the move. Both are still capable of playing tremendous defense, spreading the floor and taking over some of the shot creation responsibilities.
Pascal Siakam is one of the best players set to hit free agency and a possibility in theory, but his rocky relationship with Nurse might preclude that from happening. If the 76ers don’t trade for Anunoby, then this could be another route to add him, although the Raptors could offer him more money to re-sign there.
That cap space could also allow the 76ers to make uneven salary trades next summer, taking in a disgruntled star player without having to send matching salary back. That could be an attractive option for a non-contending team that needs to shave salary off its books.
The aftermath of the Harden trade is that the 76ers have a ton of flexibility going forward. They will surely use it in some way or another.