Category: Sixers

NBA Notebook: Zach LaVine, Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, Gary Trent Jr, Jordan Clarkson, more

The latest intel on trade talks surrounding Zach LaVine, Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr, Kristaps Porzingis’ free agency, and more on HoopsHype.

Amid the NBA’s G League Showcase, rival teams are monitoring the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards.

Just before Chicago executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley arrived in Las Vegas for the Showcase, Bulls star Zach LaVine drew the frustration of his teammates during a blowout loss to Minnesota. Several NBA teams, including the New York Knicks, are monitoring whether LaVine will become available on the trade market after Chicago’s underwhelming start to the season at 12-18, Lonzo Ball’s return from injury in question, and Nikola Vucevic’s looming free agency.

In addition to LaVine, NBA executives also discussed the futures of three potential free agents who could hit the market if they decline player options: Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, and Gary Trent Jr. 

With that in mind, this week’s NBA notebook includes the latest intel on Trent Jr. as a trade candidate and Porzingis’ potential free agency value from our own Michael Scotto, the latest trade rumors commentary on LaVine and Kuzma from our capologist Yossi Gozlan, a free agency stock watch from our Frank Urbina, and a new All-World Draft Ranking created by Alberto De Roa.

Top trade candidates on each NBA team this season

Reporting on the top trade candidates for all 30 NBA teams from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

NBA executives are beginning their due diligence for the upcoming trade market with December 15th approaching, the first day players who signed offseason contracts can be traded.

Below is the latest intel HoopsHype has gathered on the top trade candidates for all 30 NBA teams.

NBA executives poll: Who are the top breakout candidates for the 2022-23 season?

NBA executives predict who will be the top breakout players of the 2022-23 season in a poll by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

Which players will make the top leaps in their games this year?

HoopsHype polled 20 NBA executives to gauge who will be the top breakout candidates this season. Each executive was asked to list his Top 3 candidates for a breakout campaign.

Most of the talent evaluators prioritized young players who will see an increased role. Others selected younger players who could become All-Stars for the first time.

After receiving the feedback from the executives, the voting results were tabulated, with the top player receiving five points, the second receiving three points, and the third receiving one point for each ballot. Below are the results.

NBA offseason winners and losers; EuroBasket stars who can join NBA

HoopsHype’s winners and losers of the 2022 NBA offseason and potential overseas players to monitor following the EuroBasket tournament.

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Yossi Gozlan, and Dionysis Aravantinos discuss the winners and losers of the 2022 NBA offseason and react to the end of the EuroBasket Tournament with potential overseas players to monitor on the latest edition of the HoopsHype podcast.

For more interviews with players, coaches, and media members, be sure to like and subscribe to the HoopsHype podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Listen to the podcast above or check out some snippets of the conversation in a transcribed version below.

Sixers season preview: Will they get over the hump this year?

The Sixers haven’t made the Conference Finals since 2001, which seems odd considering that they’ve had many successful competitive seasons since. Since ending the tanking portion of “The Process” and making the playoffs in 2018, Philadelphia has …

The Sixers haven’t made the Conference Finals since 2001, which seems odd considering that they’ve had many successful competitive seasons since. Since ending the tanking portion of “The Process” and making the playoffs in 2018, Philadelphia has made it to the second round in all but one season. They have now put together the best-fitting team around Joel Embiid in his career. If everything goes right for them, they could break their Conference Finals streak and potentially make it all the way to the NBA Finals.

Below, check out our preview for the 2022-23 Sixers campaign.

What James Harden re-signing with Sixers means

The Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden have finally agreed on a deal for the 13-year veteran to return. He will re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year deal worth $68.6 million with a player option for year two, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. This …

The Philadelphia 76ers and James Harden have finally agreed on a deal for the 13-year veteran to return. He will re-sign with the Sixers on a two-year deal worth $68.6 million with a player option for year two, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. This move could serve as a temporary financial sacrifice from Harden that allows the Sixers to make moves that improve their title odds.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 7.0: Ousmane Dieng moves into lottery, Jalen Williams top 20; trade talks

The NBA Draft is less than a week away, with more potential big trades on the horizon following the Christian Wood acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks, as noted throughout our new HoopsHype aggregate mock draft. To get a better projection of where …

The NBA Draft is less than a week away, with more potential big trades on the horizon following the Christian Wood acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks, as noted throughout our new HoopsHype aggregate mock draft.

To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.

The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Dyson Daniels moving up further within the top 10 picks, Ousmane Dieng becoming a projected lottery pick, and Jalen Williams vaulting into the Top 20 range. Jake LaRavia and Dalen Terry, two of the biggest risers throughout the draft process, have moved into the late first round.

Other risers in the second round include Ryan Rollins, Andrew Nembhard, David Roddy, John Butler, Michael Foster, Gabriele Procida, and Dereon Seabron.

The notable name that fell was MarJon Beauchamp, who now is projected outside the top 20 picks despite receiving a green room invite. Josh Minott and Jean Montero were among those whose stock fell in the second round.

NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking. 

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Aggregate NBA mock draft 6.0: Dyson Daniels moves into top 10; Christian Wood trade rumors

Following the withdrawals of several prospects, the aggregate NBA mock draft has shifted noticeably, and more intel on teams have surfaced with the draft nearing. To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand …

Following the withdrawals of several prospects, the aggregate NBA mock draft has shifted noticeably, and more intel on teams have surfaced with the draft nearing.

To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.

The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Keegan Murray leaping Shaedon Sharpe into the top five range, Dyson Daniels entering the top 10, and Malaki Branham cracking the end of the lottery. Dalen Terry also vaulted 12 spots since our last aggregate mock draft and is currently positioned as an early second-round pick.

Some of the more notable names that fell slightly included TyTy Washington, Max Christie and Leonard Miller.

NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Aggregate NBA mock draft 5.0: Jabari Smith leaps Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero; trade possibilities

Following the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, NBA executives who spoke with HoopsHype said they are monitoring the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers as two potential teams that could trade their picks in search of player(s) that can help …

Following the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery, NBA executives who spoke with HoopsHype said they are monitoring the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers as two potential teams that could trade their picks in search of player(s) that can help immediately. Sacramento has missed the playoffs for a record 16 consecutive seasons. Portland’s franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard turns 32 on July 15, with the clock ticking on his prime years.

Other executives are monitoring Oklahoma City, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Minnesota as potential traders. The Thunder has four picks in the top 34 and can consolidate some of those picks. The Hornets can afford to move one of their first-round picks (13 and 15). The Grizzlies have an established young core ready to take the next step with picks 22 and 29 to dangle as bait. The Spurs (picks 9, 20, 25 and 38) have a surplus of late first-rounders that should be available. The Timberwolves have the No. 19 pick and three picks in the 40-50 range to dangle.

The consensus big three of this year’s draft class remains Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero, with Shaedon Sharpe rising into the top five in the latest aggregate mock draft.

To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.

Sharpe (Kentucky), Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite), Mark Williams (Duke), Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand NBL), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), Nikola Jovic (Mega Basket Serbia), Walker Kessler (Auburn), Leonard Miller (Fort Erie International Academy), Max Christie (Michigan State), Terquavion Smith (NC State), Jalen Williams (Santa Clara), Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest), Caleb Houston (Michigan), Dalen Terry (Arizona) and Ryan Rollins (Toledo) have all risen within the top 45 picks.

Within the top 10 picks, AJ Griffin (Duke), Johnny Davis (Wisconsin) and Jalen Duran (Memphis) all fell slightly. Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) fell slightly outside the lottery. Kendall Brown (Baylor) had the biggest fall of the projected first-round prospects.

NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Sixers offseason preview: James Harden’s contract, Matisse Thybulle extension and more

After an embarrassing playoff exit to the Atlanta Hawks last season, Ben Simmons demanded a trade and never suited up for the Sixers again. They managed to stay afloat throughout the year thanks to another Joel Embiid MVP-caliber season, Tyrese …

After an embarrassing playoff exit to the Atlanta Hawks last season, Ben Simmons demanded a trade and never suited up for the Sixers again. They managed to stay afloat throughout the year thanks to another Joel Embiid MVP-caliber season, Tyrese Maxey’s ascension, and turning a Simmons on strike into James Harden. Going from the early season Simmons saga to making a significant mid-season trade and winning a playoff series should be considered a successful season.

The Sixers will now have the opportunity to reshape the roster around their new star duo after moving off several key role players in the trade for Harden. Along with negotiating a new contract for him, they will also need to make some decisions on other key role players and improve the roster through trade and free agency.