The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten off to a hot start this season.
Despite some offseason woes surrounding James Harden’s future in Philly, the franchise circumvented that whole debacle about as well as possible.
With 28 games in the books this season, the Sixers are 20-8. That has them third in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, and just 1.5 games out of that top seed.
As good as their 2023-24 campaign has gone for them, Philadelphia has made it no secret that the franchise is open to making a big trade.
Ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, it appears the front office has its sights set on two players.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the two players in question are Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors.
“Zach LaVine, OG Anunoby, those are two names to keep an eye on as guys that Philadelphia has monitored.”@ShamsCharania on the Sixers monitoring the marketplace.
📺: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/exXkQINeYh
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 21, 2023
“The Sixers are continuing to look at the marketplace,” Charania said.
“If you look at their asset pool, three first-round picks they can trade. They have a bunch of contracts… So, Zach LaVine, OG Anunoby, those are two names to keep an eye on as guys that Philadelphia has monitored and has a level of interest in.
“Another guy to watch is Tobias Harris, who is on an expiring deal for $37 million. He’s been a one-two punch at different points and a lot of teams are keeping an eye on him.”
LaVine has expressed an interest in being traded to any of four teams – and the Sixers are one of them.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ high-end offer for LaVine is a matter of public record. If Philly is prepared to top it, he is theirs.
Brittany Mahomes’ Tipping Behavior Causes A Stir (Video): https://t.co/8jJ5fjSp3v
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 23, 2023
Anunoby is another intriguing piece, though multiple teams have expressed interest in him as well.
One way or another, it seems like Philly doesn’t plan to rest on its laurels. Clearly the team’s hot start to the 2023-24 NBA season hasn’t tempered the front office’s desire to improve.
Is a big trade in the 76ers’ foreseeable future? Time will tell.
Related: Anthony Davis Gets Brutally Honest About What’s Wrong With Lakers
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
