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NBA Draft Rumors: 76ers looking to trade up to draft D’Angelo Russell

By Josh Hill

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The NBA Draft could feature some trade movement at the top of the order, with the Philadelphia 76ers leading the charge. 

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With the NBA Draft just days away, teams are going to be jockeying for positioning like never before. One the one hand, teams have come to realize that they aren’t in a position to get who they want and are either doubling down or looking elsewhere for a solution.

But teams like the Philadelphia 76ers are cognizant of the fact that they may miss out on who they want and are so close to tasting that they can’t give up. That’s where draft day trades may come into play, but to circumvent the complications that come along with such an endeavor, the Sixers are looking to straight up move before the draft day deadline.

According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, the 76ers are very interested in trading up with either the Timberwolves or Lakers to be in a position to draft D’Angelo Russell.

This is bad news for the New York Knicks, who are hoping that the NBA-ready Russell falls to them at No. 4 overall. Not only are the 76ers not interested in letting him slip past them though, but they’re so disinterested that they’re willing to trade up with two teams who may not even draft him to make sure they don’t lose out on him.

The only way that the Sixers could lose out on Russell — outside of interest from Minnesota or L.A. — is if the Wolves or Lakers trade back with the Knicks to allow for Russell to be drafted ahead of No. 3 overall slot. Losing out on Russell and having Karl Anthony-Towns and Jahlil Okafor go in the Top 3 means the Knicks are in a bad position at No. 4 overall. They can either go with Justise Winslow or reach for Frank Kaminsky.

New York isn’t involved in any trade discussions with the 76ers and they’re not going to be a third party contributor. Yet, they have the most to gain and lose by the 76ers moving up into the Top 2 than any other team in the draft.

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