The Philadelphia 76ers were in an interesting spot when they entered the 2018 NBA Draft. They were just coming off their first playoff appearance in six years and they were looking to build off the momentum and goodwill they just created within the fan base.
The team held the 10th pick in the draft and they had selected a local favorite in Villanova’s Mikal Bridges. It seemed like a perfect fit. His skillset would work out well next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and on top of that, his mom worked for the team. It was a great fit all-around.
However, the Phoenix Suns really wanted Bridges on their roster, and their general manager, Ryan McDonough, worked out a trade with the Sixers to send the 16th pick and a future pick to Philadelphia for Bridges. That pick turned out to be Zhaire Smith who has played a grand total of 13 games in two seasons.
McDonough joined The Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast to explain just what went down on draft night in 2018:
So we were looking to get up and we had a couple guys targeted, Mikal Bridges was one of them. So I called the Sixers and said hey, are you guys interested in trading the pick? They said no no no it basically and didn’t say no, they said, Wait, which teams do. They want to see who’s available because if their guy’s not there, they’re more likely to trade off this guy that they like. So I called the Sixers when I think the ninth pick had just been announced. I said okay you guys open they said no there’s a guy we’d like we you know we’re gonna take him. I said okay, who is it? They said Mikal Bridges from Villanova. I said well, it makes sense.
McDonough then dropped a key piece of information about the future pick that the Sixers had also acquired from Phoenix:
Now we’re gonna act like we’re picking 16, but call us back as we get closer to 16. If you want to do a deal or discuss a deal. We’ll give you something good to get Bridges and you can have the 16th pick. So sure enough it was probably around 15. The phone rings we don’t know who it is, obviously, but Zhaire Smith was still on the board. So pick 15 comes and goes. And like even on the clock is being negotiated pick 16, and I give him credit they drove up, you know, a hard line. This is not you know any reporting guys this is just my interpretation. I think they really wanted what they got the 2021 unprotected Miami first round pick to then try to repackage that for Kawhi Leonard, I think that was the play.
Looking back at the trade, the Sixers should have kept Bridges as he has had a solid career for the Suns, but the 2021 pick was too valuable of an asset at the time. Unfortunately, the Sixers could not turn that pick into a potential Leonard trade, but that is the way the business goes sometimes. [lawrence-related id=38468,38459,38456]