With the 2025 NBA Draft just hours away, let’s break down the most likely outcomes for the Sixers on Wednesday night.
We’ve finally arrived. The 2025 NBA Draft is mere hours away.
The Sixers and Rutgers star Ace Bailey have stolen all the headlines leading up to Wednesday night. In both instances, nobody knows what the hell they’re trying to do. With that in mind, let’s look over the most likely outcomes for the Sixers.
1. Stick and pick
The Sixers simply taking a player feels like the most likely outcome. While Baylor’s VJ Edgecome feels like the leader in the clubhouse — he was the only prospect the Sixers hosted for a pre-draft workout — Bailey, Duke’s Kon Knueppel and Texas’ Tre Johnson have been linked to the team as well.
Edgecombe ticks a lot of boxes for the Sixers as far as the team’s desired goal to get younger and more dynamic. Bailey has arguably the highest ceiling in the draft class of anyone not named Cooper Flagg, but comes with plenty of red flags. Knueppel and Johnson are lights-out shooters who are both a little underrated in terms of their overall offensive game.
As we sit here, Edgecombe feels like the guy, but there have been interesting nuggets floating around about the other guys. While Bailey seems to be doing his best to orchestrate where he goes, Knueppel and Johnson have gone about their business. Knueppel revealed recently he had a Zoom call with the Sixers. There have been credible reports that Johnson could be in play at No. 3 — to the point where his odds of being drafted third overall shot up at one point Tuesday.
As of now, FanDuel has Edgecombe as the favorite (-650) with Bailey (+500), Knueppel (+800) and Johnson (+800) behind him.
2. Trade back
If the Sixers make a deal, trading back makes the most sense. So even if they select Edgecombe, there’s no guarantee he’s a Sixer by the end of the night.
Daryl Morey and company could be interested in a trade back, but it makes little sense to execute such a trade before the draft begins. The best strategy is to take the highest player on your board and see how the rest of the picks shake out. It’s also important you like the player you’re selecting in case a trade never materializes.
As Sam Vecenie at The Athletic reported, Edgecombe seems to be the player teams would want to trade up for. Then again, the Pelicans’ interest in Bailey has been heavily reported. If a trade back happens, it will likely be with the Sixers taking Edgecombe and a player like Knueppel or Johnson falling to a team with an offer the Sixers like.
The Hornets are rumored to love Edgecombe. Maybe the Sixers trade down one spot, get some draft capital and select the next player on their board. The Jazz seem set to either pick at No. 5 or trade back, but the Wizards, Pelicans or Nets all have extra draft picks and could be open for business. If Knueppel or Johnson somehow make it to pick No. 8, Brooklyn could make for an excellent trade partner.
Morey is enough of a madman where he could make Charlotte trade up one spot for Edgecombe, then make Washington trade up to No. 4 for Bailey. That would leave them with either Knueppel or Johnson at No. 6 plus a bunch of stuff from the Hornets and Wizards. That’s a strong outcome.
3. Trade up
There have been multiple reports about the Sixers engaging the Spurs for the No. 2 overall pick. Those reports have generally concluded San Antonio is planning to select Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and figure out the fit later.
It’s no secret things could get tricky around Victor Wembanyama with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Harper all in the fold. Fox is the best shooter of the bunch and he had an abysmal season from three last year (31%). Harper would fit much better with the Sixers playing alongside Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, who are both better shooters than playmakers.
Still, there’s a reason the Spurs are such a great organization. They’ll likely take Harper because he’s the best player available — unless they get an absolute haul from the Sixers or another team (the Nets are absolutely loaded with draft capital and would be a great fit for Harper).
Morey probably reengages with San Antonio ahead of the draft, but it would be (pleasantly) surprising to see the Sixers coming away with Harper.
4. Trade for another first
What if the Sixers stick and pick at No. 3 and then look to get back into the first round? This scenario sort of feels unlikely but it’s far from impossible.
The biggest knocks on the Sixers’ roster construction for the future are they’re guard-heavy and skew on the smaller side — especially if they take a guard at No. 3. There are so many big, versatile players who could go in the teens and 20s. It would probably cost a future first or something of that ilk. Morey might be more interested in adding future draft capital.
5. Trade out of the first round entirely
This one would be stunning. It would fly in the face of everything Morey has said recently. It wouldn’t be the first time an executive said one thing and did another, but getting younger and more athletic is absolutely the correct approach. Unless there’s an opportunity to pry a young star (or young player you think could develop into a star), it wouldn’t make much sense to trade away a top-3 pick for immediate help.