Still, given their recent playoff history, doubts will inevitably persist about Embiid and the Sixers until they prove it in April, May and June. Dropping 70 points against the hopelessly outmatched Spurs during the regular season is one thing; doing it against longtime nemesis Al Horford and the Celtics in a Game 6 or Game 7 is another.
At the recent Sixers Youth Foundation Gala, team president Daryl Morey told Bob Cooney, Andrew Salciunas and Tyrone Johnson of 97.5 The Fanatic that he’s thinking a lot about how the Sixers match up with Boston, whom he called the favorite in the East.
“I think we are one of the very few championship contenders,” Morey said. “But you have to be realistic about where you are relative to other teams. I think you have to say Boston is the favorite right now to come out of the East… I do think Boston’s playing at a very high level. It is a team that we focus a lot on. I do think Milwaukee also is right there with us. And yeah, look, if there’s an opportunity to make the team better, that’s something we’ll do, for sure.”
That might depend on who becomes available and their respective teams’ asking price. With more than two weeks to go until the trade deadline, most teams are still in the deeply unserious stage of negotiations.
For instance, the Washington Wizards want “at least two first-round picks” for forward Kyle Kuzma, according to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, and “the implication is they will be seeking higher-quality picks” than the ones that the Toronto Raptors received from the Indiana Pacers for Pascal Siakam. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets also want “the equivalent of two first-round picks” for forward Dorian Finney-Smith, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Once the trade deadline draws closer, teams typically begin to drop their asking prices, especially for players on expiring contracts whom they might lose for nothing in free agency. The Sixers seem inclined to call other teams’ bluff and see whether they can pry away a rotation player for less than currently expected.
Between OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, most of the big-name options are already off the board. The Sixers could always circle back on LaVine or Murray, but they seem more likely to swing a deal for a lower-profile player. They also may be keeping an eye on the buyout market, particularly after the Miami Heat sent Kyle Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
Although the Hornets currently don’t plan to buy Lowry out, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that figures to change if they’re unable to re-route him by the trade deadline. The Sixers may be uniquely positioned to land him if so—he’s a Philadelphia native who played both for Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and Morey—but the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement could complicate that pursuit.
Under the new CBA, teams over either salary-cap apron can’t sign players on the buyout market if they were previously earning more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (roughly $12.4 million this year). The Sixers are roughly $2.76 million below the first apron at the moment, so they’ll have to be mindful of that if they do hope to pursue Lowry as a buyout option.
Either way, Morey is urging Sixers fans to remain patient for now.
“Evaluate us at the right time, which is the playoffs, and how the team looks going into there,” he said at the youth gala. “Most of the trades that really help teams in my opinion happen closer to the deadline. The ones that happen early is usually one team or another team overpaying. Generally those don’t help you as much.
“… We’re evaluating everything. If a player becomes available who can help us, we’re for sure gonna be right there.”
We’ll soon find out what Morey has up his sleeve.
