As the Feb. 9 trade deadline continues to quickly approach, the Philadelphia 76ers will certainly be in the market for any upgrades that president Daryl Morey deems fit for the roster.
The Sixers will likely make some type of smaller trade before the deadline as they will want to ensure they have some cap space in the offseason to take care of James Harden should he opt out of his deal in 2023 free agency.
The mock trade Sixers Wire will examine takes a different approach. Coming from NBA Analysis Network, they have Philadelphia looking at a big man from the Utah Jazz:
The fake trade proposal
Utah Jazz Receive: G/F Furkan Korkmaz, G/F Matisse Thybulle, F/C Paul Reed
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: F/C Kelly Olynyk
NBA Analysis Network on why the Sixers do this deal
At the same time, a backup big man for Embiid would be nice. Furthermore, any contending team can always use some spacing in the frontcourt.
This deal nets them both in one package. Olynyk is a combo big who can play at the 4 and the 5, and provide quality spacing from either.
He’s also a surprisingly adept defender and playmaker who would make this team better.
Analyzing the deal from a Sixers standpoint
Olynyk is a guy with a ton of playoff experience and he would bring shooting and rebounding to the bench unit. He is shooting 41.3% from deep and 50.3% from the floor for the Jazz while doing it all on either end of the floor and he’s averaging 3.3 assists per game. His presence would bring a stretch ability to the big man spot off the bench.
However, the Sixers are likely focused on shedding salary more than taking it on. Olynyk is set to make roughly $12 million in the 2023-24 season and the Sixers want to make sure they have money for the free agency period in 2023. This type of deal would be helpful in the short term on their championship path, but the Sixers also have to figure out the future as well. This is a deal that Philadelphia likely doesn’t consider.