The Philadelphia 76ers had a busy trade deadline, making moves to help them right now and in the future.
They acquired Buddy Hield and Cam Payne, and both have already been helpful. They also created open roster spots and more financial flexibility that will help President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey make the next move for the future.
However, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, Morey was also checking on the bigger names around the league at the deadline, such as Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James:
After seeing James’ cryptic social media post of an hourglass a week before the trade deadline, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey called Pelinka to probe on a James trade and was immediately told that James wasn’t available. In fact, Pelinka responded by asking Morey if Joel Embiid was available, sources said. And that ended that brief conversation. These sorts of bold trade calls are historically a common practice for Morey, who also called the Phoenix Suns and asked about the availability of Durant, only to be told Durant was not available, sources said.
The fact Morey was checking on big stars suggests he has a bigger plan going forward. It will certainly be an interesting offseason. The Sixers appear poised to be very active in adding to the roster around Joel Embiid. Acquiring somebody like James would have been a move that rocked the NBA.
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