The Philadelphia 76ers took Joel Embiid in the NBA draft and now a trade with Michael Carter-Williams, Thaddeus Young or Nerlens Noel could be coming this summer as the team tries to rebuild and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls or NY Knicks could be interested in making a deal.
The Sixers are rebuilding hard and the team picked Embiid at number three despite his injury, as they saw him as the top player in the draft and the top player on their board. According to ESPN.com, the Lakers were interested in Michael Carter-Williams and after they picked Julius Randle they still could be looking for a point guard upgrade over Steve Nash for next season.
Williams averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds last season, but many felt his numbers were a bit inflated and not as meaningful since the team he played for was terrible. Thaddeus Young was mentioned in trade rumors last season and he could be on the move this summer if Hinkie finds a willing partner. He was one player that many thought would be traded last season, but the Sixers moved Evan Turner to the Pacers instead and now they could trade Young.
The Sixers ended up taking Elfrid Payton at number 10 and many thought after that the team would be looking to trade MCW since he is also a point guard, but obviously the team made another move. That doesn't mean Sam Hinkie won't try and strike while the iron is hot on Williams, who won rookie of the year last season, but it likely won't happen in the next couple weeks. The Sixers acquired more draft picks, including two future picks in the deal for Payton and now the team has a ton of young talent to build around, including Noel and Embiid. The team traded Payton for a future first rounder and a second round pick from the Magic along with Dario Saric from Croatia and now they have his rights as well.
There were reports before the draft that the Philadelphia 76ers were looking to package a huge deal to move up to get Andree Wiggins, but nothing materialized out of that deal. According to Yahoo Sports, those rumors were hogwash and they did not make a push up, even with their two top 10 picks and five second round picks. Instead the team waited until the draft to make moves and they got a guy they wanted all along in Embiid, who many think is the best prospect in what was a very deep draft.
Saric has a three year deal with his team, but the Sixers are willing to wait and in a way, they got back a pick they once gave up after acquiring it from the Magic. According to ESPN.com, the 2017 first round pick from the Magic was the pick the Sixers owed to the team after the Dwight Howard trade and now they have that back as well with the 2015 second round pick. Hinkie is known for making trades and no one is safe on this team and that may include Williams now, even with the Payton deal.
