Usually, when NBA teams find themselves in the bottom half of the league, they have the draft lottery to look forward to.
Take the New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently projected to pick fourth. Their situation couldn’t be more straightforward. They had a miserable season, in large part due to myriad injuries, and as a direct result, they’ll likely get a fairly high first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Some teams, like the Atlanta Hawks, find themselves in the unpleasant situation of having relinquished control of their first-round pick, as they owe it to the San Antonio Spurs, unprotected.
Then there are the Philadelphia 76ers, who — sigh — just seem to always find a way to make things extra difficult for themselves.
[2025 NBA Draft Lottery: Date, No. 1 odds and what to know for the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes]
The Sixers, who similarly to the Pelicans dealt with multiple injuries, find themselves projected to pick fifth overall in this year’s draft.
For their sake, they better hope that projection sticks, because if they drop down to seventh, that pick goes straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder — all due to a trade that was completed four and half years ago.
Remember when the Sixers thought signing Al Horford would be a good idea?
That was in 2019, when Horford was already 33, and Philadelphia believed he could play the power forward position next to Joel Embiid. Things went … about as well as you’d expect, and after a 67-game career with the Sixers, Horford was dealt to the Thunder in what can only be described as a salary dump.
Here’s the kicker: For the Sixers, who signed Horford to a four-year deal worth $97 million, they had to give up assets to get off the contract.
One of those assets? Yeah, it’s this year’s pick, with top-six protection.
This means Philadelphia will be at the edge of its seat until the May 12 draft lottery, when it finally will learn its fate for this year’s draft.
For a team that disappointed so overwhelmingly and is stuck with two albatross contracts in the form of Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers need a win here and that means keeping the pick.
You can, as an organization, see a much clearer path out of the dark wilderness if you add a top-six selection to a young core of Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Quentin Grimes — assuming the 76ers stick with Grimes, who is a restricted free agent this summer.
Losing this year’s pick and having to go back to the dried-up well of Embiid and George, knowing that the cycle of perpetual injuries will undoubtedly rear its head again, would be a punch to gut. And it’d all be due to a trade made practically half a decade ago.
If anything, there’s something to learn here.
Handing out major long-term money to players approaching their mid-30s who project as wonky fits almost always end poorly.
Some will argue the potential reward outweighs the risk, but those are probably the same people who will make a $4,000 investment into Aerotyne International after a phone call with Jordan Belfort.
Basically, if a team has to gamble on any kind of talent, at least focus on young talent. The likelihood of such a player becoming an appreciating asset is much, much higher.
Additionally, using picks to bail yourself out of trouble isn’t actually bailing yourself out of trouble. It’s just kicking the can down the road, with the selection getting more valuable, more attractive and more necessary — but no longer fully in your possession.
This is where you might be thinking “But if the 76ers keep their pick this year, it’s fine, right?”
Well, yes and no. The Sixers need this pick big time this year, especially to get better next season. Because they still owe the Thunder. That won’t go away anytime soon.
If the Sixers keep the pick this year, the protection on next season’s selection lowers to top four, meaning the Sixers will have to pick within the first four selections to retain it. The same applies for 2027.
(It gets nutty in 2028 due to the 2022 James Harden trade, which throws Brooklyn in the mix, but let’s wait to lay that out, as we have enough to decipher aleady.)
Having the pick convert to Oklahoma City next year would be preferable, assuming, of course, the Sixers bounce back next season and won’t have to relinquish a lottery selection — something a top-six pick might be able to help with.
Usually, when NBA teams find themselves in the bottom half of the league, they have the draft lottery to look forward to.
Take the New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently projected to pick fourth. Their situation couldn’t be more straightforward. They had a miserable season, in large part due to myriad injuries, and as a direct result, they’ll likely get a fairly high first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
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Some teams, like the Atlanta Hawks, find themselves in the unpleasant situation of having relinquished control of their first-round pick, as they owe it to the San Antonio Spurs, unprotected.
Then there are the Philadelphia 76ers, who — sigh — just seem to always find a way to make things extra difficult for themselves.
[2025 NBA Draft Lottery: Date, No. 1 odds and what to know for the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes]
The Sixers, who similarly to the Pelicans dealt with multiple injuries, find themselves projected to pick fifth overall in this year’s draft.
For their sake, they better hope that projection sticks, because if they drop down to seventh, that pick goes straight to the Oklahoma City Thunder — all due to a trade that was completed four and half years ago.
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Remember when the Sixers thought signing Al Horford would be a good idea?
That was in 2019, when Horford was already 33, and Philadelphia believed he could play the power forward position next to Joel Embiid. Things went … about as well as you’d expect, and after a 67-game career with the Sixers, Horford was dealt to the Thunder in what can only be described as a salary dump.
Here’s the kicker: For the Sixers, who signed Horford to a four-year deal worth $97 million, they had to give up assets to get off the contract.
One of those assets? Yeah, it’s this year’s pick, with top-six protection.
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This means Philadelphia will be at the edge of its seat until the May 12 draft lottery, when it finally will learn its fate for this year’s draft.
For a team that disappointed so overwhelmingly and is stuck with two albatross contracts in the form of Embiid and Paul George, the Sixers need a win here and that means keeping the pick.
You can, as an organization, see a much clearer path out of the dark wilderness if you add a top-six selection to a young core of Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Quentin Grimes — assuming the 76ers stick with Grimes, who is a restricted free agent this summer.
Losing this year’s pick and having to go back to the dried-up well of Embiid and George, knowing that the cycle of perpetual injuries will undoubtedly rear its head again, would be a punch to gut. And it’d all be due to a trade made practically half a decade ago.
Advertisement
If anything, there’s something to learn here.
Handing out major long-term money to players approaching their mid-30s who project as wonky fits almost always end poorly.
Some will argue the potential reward outweighs the risk, but those are probably the same people who will make a $4,000 investment into Aerotyne International after a phone call with Jordan Belfort.
Basically, if a team has to gamble on any kind of talent, at least focus on young talent. The likelihood of such a player becoming an appreciating asset is much, much higher.
Additionally, using picks to bail yourself out of trouble isn’t actually bailing yourself out of trouble. It’s just kicking the can down the road, with the selection getting more valuable, more attractive and more necessary — but no longer fully in your possession.
Advertisement
This is where you might be thinking “But if the 76ers keep their pick this year, it’s fine, right?”
Well, yes and no. The Sixers need this pick big time this year, especially to get better next season. Because they still owe the Thunder. That won’t go away anytime soon.
If the Sixers keep the pick this year, the protection on next season’s selection lowers to top four, meaning the Sixers will have to pick within the first four selections to retain it. The same applies for 2027.
(It gets nutty in 2028 due to the 2022 James Harden trade, which throws Brooklyn in the mix, but let’s wait to lay that out, as we have enough to decipher aleady.)
Having the pick convert to Oklahoma City next year would be preferable, assuming, of course, the Sixers bounce back next season and won’t have to relinquish a lottery selection — something a top-six pick might be able to help with.
