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The 76ers could be in the market to trade the third overall pick, with an eye on potential trade targets such as Kevin Durant and Lauri Markkanen.
Several teams expect the Sixers to be active in trade talks and packages could include Paul George and that prized first-round selection, according to ESPN.
However, that would fly in the face of what 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has said on multiple occasions, including after the draft lottery when he said Philly’s “plan is to keep” the pick.
It was also a point he made recently while appearing on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s “Take Off” podcast.
“Our plan is to pick this pick, yeah,” Morey said. “I think the top few, top three, four, you could argue, five maybe. I mean, there’s good players in this draft.”
Morey did seem to be enthusiastic about the potential impact player the Sixers could draft with the third overall pick.
The Post’s Zach Braziller projected Rutgers’ Dylan Harper to the 76ers in his first mock, while Scarlet Knights’ teammate Ace Bailey is projected to Philadelphia in the latest ESPN mock draft.
“Historically, the third pick has a pretty good potential to be an All-Star level player,” Morey said. “There’s a lot of misses at three as well, so we got a lot of work to do to make sure we get this right. But historically, especially in a good draft like this with a lot of high-potential players, yeah, we get a good chance of getting a future franchise, very important player.”
The ESPN report did note that Morey has a history of being aggressive when it comes to trades, but also mentioned the rarity that comes with trading a top-three pick.
The NBA draft is still a little more than a month away and anything is possible up until the Sixers make the pick at three or make a deal to try and set themselves up to be competitive for 2025-26.
Philadelphia went 24-58 last season in a disastrous, injury-filled campaign.
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