Despite initially being mounted as a surefire trading platform, the 2024 NBA Draft simply went by for the Philadelphia 76ers without a swap in sight. While that doesn’t leave them at an impasse (the team had a great draft), the team’s slew of roster holes remain unresolved, especially when it comes to added win-now value.
We’ve all been hearing the same names floated as possible targets for the 76ers, but most of those players are now either unavailable or simply too far-fetched to continue being pegged as viable options. Thus, here are four ideal trade targets for Philly that no one’s really talking about.
4. Jerami Grant profiles as a high-end gap filler for the 76ers
Disclaimer: All players on this list play the same position, the one which Philadelphia badly needs augmenting in light of their present dearth of options.
Portland, owners of the worst record in the West last season, kicked off its offseason with a tremendous hattrick, snagging Deni Avidja from Washington for Malcolm Brogdon and spare change. This signals that the Trail Blazers would be holding a fire sale this summer, and we probably already know who’s on the verge of getting the proverbial axe soon.
Jerami Grant, who signed a lucrative extension last year before the franchise pivoted to a youth movement off of trading Damian Lillard, is a near-goner at this point. And while there’s no smoke off the churner as of the moment, the 76ers should entertain the possibility of trading for the 30-year-old.
As Portland’s nominal primary option last season, Grant turned in a pretty solid season, logging 21 points per outing on 45.1 percent shooting overall, which includes a commendable 40.2 percent clip from rainbow country. With Philly currently having zero forwards on deck, the 10-year veteran projects as a solid, backup option who has experience carrying when needed and getting shoehorned into a lesser role, which he would be playing next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
3. Former Philadelphia enemy Grant Williams might just do the trick
Grant Williams has been subject to undeserved ridicule in the last couple of seasons, but the fact remains that he was a pivotal player for two powerhouses before ultimately getting traded out of town.
Admittedly, Williams registered a meager season for the Mavericks last season as went on to get flipped to the Hornets at the trade deadline. However, the five-year tweener played the best stretch of basketball in his career — at least in the regular season — playing for the Teal and White as their de facto sixth man, logging a career-best 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 30.6 minutes per outing.
76ers fans may not be too fond of Williams from his relatively long stay with archrival Boston, but given that we probably won’t be an expensive player to get from youth-centric Charlotte, the front office could do much worse than take a flier on someone who plays a position of need, functions as a reliable connector and spot-up shooter (when not scared to do so) on offense, and consistently defends multiple positions well.
2. Kyle Kuzma could bring his flair to the 76ers
Another team that has apparently started going on a full-throttle vision to bottom out and rebuild is Washington, a franchise that has resisted a youth movement before this offseason. Thanks to them landing Alex Sarr in the recently concluded draft, they now have another viable piece to a young core they should be riding for the foreseeable future.
For veterans like Kyle Kuzma, however, that means getting ready to get traded at any instance. The Wizards have no practical purpose to keep him any longer, and phasing him out would equate to them extracting a great deal of assets from any team that wishes to have him aboard. And that “any team” could certainly mean the 76ers.
Within the context of Plan B’s and C’s, Philadelphia can still be well-served resorting to a high-end starter like Kuzma. Sure, he’s an inefficient scorer who can be subject to immature on-court moments in a vacuum, but he’s still one of the best non All-Stars in the NBA, boasts great length fitting the Nick Nurse archetype at the forward position, and plays an all-around game predicated on his much-improved court sense and above-average rebounding. Oh, and he has a championship ring.
1. Cameron Johnson would be a sneaky trade target for Philly
Fresh off trading Mikal Bridges away for a king-sized ransom, the Brooklyn Nets are pivoting hard toward a much-needed and long overdue rebuild in anticipation of a talent-filled 2025 NBA Draft class. The outturn of that, of course, is a brewing demolition job to further improve their prospects, especially assets-wise.
After Bridges, another name that would instantly net the Nets with a handsome return is Cameron Johnson, who is now widely believed to be a prime candidate to be moved via trade this offseason. The 76ers have yet to register interest thanks to their ambitious targets, but there probably aren’t many who won’t be enthused about the possibility of him filling the team’s forward void.
A highly valued low-usage, two-way forward, Johnson would quickly give Philadelphia a steady hand at the position. He plays with a lot of fluidity on offense thanks to his career 39.2 percent rate from three-point range, and his length can bother anyone on defense. There’s nothing to truly dislike about his on-court persona.
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