5 top 76ers trade targets in 2024-25 season

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Trade season is upon the NBA world. The Philadelphia 76ers’ lackluster record makes it hard to determine how big of a swing they want to take, though it seems likely that Daryl Morey will still pursue avenues to bolster his roster.

The Sixers rank near the bottom of the league in three-point percentage and assists, noting two major areas of improvement. Their defense has held up fine but could use more help at the point of attack. Although everything with this team starts and ends with the health of Joel Embiid, there are plenty of ways to make the roster stronger and more capable of winning games with and without him.

Whoever the 76ers trade for at the deadline should be someone they can hold onto for the future, as their stuffed salary sheet leaves them little room to sign free agents to sizable contracts. Rentals are an especially bad idea for a season where good playoff seeding is moving further and further from their grasp.

Here are five trade targets that help address a variety of their needs and are under contract beyond the 2024-25 season.

76ers land Collin Sexton

Acquiring Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz wouldn't be easy given importance to his team. However, he would be a major boost to a guard room that needs it in Philadelphia.

The 76ers, despite having three stars that should feasibly be able to carry the offense, need more downhill creation. Sexton would be a huge help in getting the Sixers more drive-and-kick plays, trips to the foul line and points in the paint. Even on a young, bad squad, he does a good job of making plays while maintaining his own efficiency. While Sexton is pretty ball-dominant, he’s not useless without it. He shoots extremely well on catch-and-shoot threes, connecting on over 44 percent in each of the last two seasons.

Adding another small guard alongside Tyrese Maxey (and Jared McCain when he returns next season) would continue to invite challenges on defense. However, the Sixers are built to incubate such players. Nick Nurse’s tactics have proven effective for a team that lacks size and Embiid provides a strong defensive floor single-handedly. Plus, if the Sixers offense gets better, they won't have as much to worry about defensively.

Bombarding teams with non-stop shooting and scoring threats at the guard spot is going to be a necessity for the 76ers offense unless it completely transforms into something more unique and creative. It would take some major readjusting for Sexton to be off the ball more but he would make the lives of Embiid, Maxey and Paul George much easier — and vice versa.

Vit Krejci joins the 76ers

A tall wing who can pass and handle the ball would be a great addition to this 76ers team. Vit Krejci of the Atlanta Hawks fits that mold and would give the Sixers a much-needed boost of playmaking and potentially some scoring.

At 6-foot-8, fewer pass-first players come as tall and long as he does. His handle is tight enough to run pick-and-rolls and fire accurate passes off the dribble. He keeps his head up to find teammates at all times, though he’s also liable to throw a pass that's too ambitious every once in a while. Still, his mistakes are the results of trying to pass to a teammate through tight spaces. The Sixers could use some of that.

Krejci’s shot chart is ideal for a role player: he shoots in the paint or beyond the arc. The 24-year-old has only played 500 minutes in a season twice, but in those campaigns, he shot very well at the rim and from the corners. His three-point shooting this season is not good, though that's partly due to being uncharacteristically bad from the corners. He’s not a threat to go off for big scoring nights but he can be a fine spot-up shooter.

Defensively, Krejci holds his own. Although he’s not great on the ball, he’s posting career highs in block and steal percentage and has a keen sense of positioning and when to pounce as an off-ball defender. Especially on a 76ers team that lacks size on the wings and playmaking as a collective group, Krejci would be a breath of fresh air.

Jose Alvarado goes from Pelicans to 76ers

The 76ers need someone that pesters opposing guards and help set the offense up. If the price in a potential Sexton trade is too high, they could look to players like Jose Alvarado, whose roles on their respective teams are smaller but remain very effective.

While Maxey has certainly been better on defense this season, Alvarado would ease some of that burden. Although he’s easy to hunt mismatches with by virtue of being the smallest player on the court in almost every instance, there's plenty of fight inside that small dog. The Sixers pride themselves on forcing turnovers, making Grand Theft Alvarado and his backcourt pilfering a perfect fit.

The 76ers also need someone who can help organize the offense. Alvarado, whose 8.1 assists per 100 possessions eclipses everyone on Philly’s roster, can serve as that organizer on the floor while still being athletic enough to keep the defense honest. He keeps the ball moving and searches for ways to get defenses into rotation. His three-point shooting is much improved, connecting on a career-best 38.5 percent of three-point tries this season.

Should the Sixers want to get a table-setting, opposing-star-pestering guard other than Alvarado, they could target Tre Jones. With Stephon Castle growing into the San Antonio Spurs’ point guard of the future, the 25-year-old Jones should be available for trade. They could also target the Toronto Raptors’ Davion Mitchell.

Sixers trade for Obi Toppin

Although the 76ers do need more playmaking and this could address it by getting better in that specific area, having an off-ball weapon like Obi Toppin could elevate the playmakers they already have. Toppin, a lob/shooting threat from the Indiana Pacers, would provide Philly’s stagnant offense with a jolt.

Nothing stands out about Toppin more than his insane hops, an athletic gift that has helped him shoot over 70 percent on two-pointers in the past. Part of that efficiency is playing next to a stretch five, Myles Turner, and scoring so often in transition.

Nonetheless, on a Sixers team that forces a lot of turnovers and has their own center that attracts a lot of defensive attention, having a guy like Toppin to run the floor and look for as a trailer would be huge. He can also shoot threes at a respectable rate (35.3 percent on 3.4 attempts per game this season), alleviating concerns about losing space.

Bringing Toppin on board certainly creates some positional overlap with Guerschon Yabusele and KJ Martin, power forwards who have been great in their roles for the 76ers. However, Toppin having a longer contract gives them more possibilities with trades down the line. Yabusele’s expiring, cheap contract makes it less likely that he’s back in Philly next season, anyway. Plus, Yabu will probably be serving as Embiid’s primary backup center moving forward, alleviating some of that positional overlap.

Toppin’s abilities on defense don't inspire much, if any, confidence. He’s posting a career-high 1.7 steal percentage but still struggles to defend in space.

Donte DiVincenzo gets traded again

The 76ers got a great look at how good Donte DiVincenzo can be in the playoffs last season. This season has been weird for the Minnesota Timberwolves and DiVincenzo is no exception. Still, he’s a very good role player and is starting to show why over the past month.

Since the start of December, DiVincenzo has shot 39.7 percent from deep on 6.4 attempts per game. He’s shooting threes more frequently than ever and remains an energetic, athletic spark plug. The Sixers don't have many guys, if any at all, who can spark the offense by launching a high volume of threes. Adding DiVo would open up the offense for Philly’s stars and give the team another option when one (or several) of them struggles in any given game.

The Timberwolves’ phones should be ringing nonstop about DiVincenzo, so the price may be too high for the Sixers’ liking. Nonetheless, he’s worth checking in on if things continue to go south for Minnesota.

Another option for the 76ers to add shooting is Duncan Robinson, who has improved over the last few seasons and may be on his way out of the soon-to-be-rebuilding Miami Heat. There's also Cam Johnson, though it would probably take the last few assets the Sixers have to outbid other teams for him, as well as Corey Kispert.

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