One trade every NBA team needs to make

Philadelphia 76ers

There is no immediate fix for 76ers, so no trade they pursue is going to drastically improve their chances of looking good. In the meantime, they have Ish Smith turning things around on the court and Jerry Colangelo working on the front office.

As for targets, C.J. McCollum (who has been mentioned in trade rumors) springs to mind as the ideal sharpshooter who the 76ers should at least attempt to trade for. He’s averaging 20.8 points per game (up from just 6.8 last season) while shooting 39.5 percent from three, yet there have been murmurs that due to his and Damian Lillard’s respective styles and questionable defense they may not be the best possible combination longterm.

So, in order for the 76ers to try to acquire McCollum (emphasis on the “try,” this can easily not happen), they can offer the Blazers Nerlens Noel and a combination of their upcoming first round draft picks. The idea of swapping McCollum with Jahlil Okafor has popped up online, but it’s hard to imagine the 76ers would trade away such a skilled lost-post center this prematurely.

With this trade, if Portland do suddenly feel motivated to move on from McCollum, they acquire a young, defensive talent in Noel and other notable assets through the NBA draft. If Portland does consider this idea at all, though, it won’t be one of the top offers they receive for McCollum — he’s just a name that should be high on the 76ers’ priority list.

It’s important to emphasize again that it’s the 76ers who are going to be more keen to acquire McCollum than the Blazers are to let him go. They may well need to offer more, as Portland aren’t letting go of McCollum easily to anyone.

However, if there’s any way Philly can make it happen with some picks, they should try their best to do so. Otherwise, there isn’t much the 76ers can do besides waiting for draft night and wondering whether Joel Embiid will ever be healthy.

Next: Brooklyn Nets