We answer your questions about which teams to root against in the playoffs and how the draft lottery could impact the Sixers’ offseason plans.
Now that the NBA playoffs have begun, it’s time to put our hater hats on. The Sixers’ season already ended in unceremonious fashion, and misery loves company.
Not only would it be enjoyable to watch longtime Sixers foils come up short—aww, are the refs not falling for your grifting nonsense this year, Jalen Brunson?—but the results of the playoffs could have trickle-down effects on the Sixers this offseason. Some teams will be facing uncomfortable questions in the next few weeks depending on how the rest of the first round shakes out.
With that in mind, we asked you for your top offseason questions on Wednesday. Let’s dive right into the first question, aka a Hater’s Guide to the Playoffs.
Sixers fans should largely be rooting for teams with high expectations to fall flat on their faces in the playoffs. That will drastically increase the chances of offseason chaos.
If the Denver Nuggets and/or Milwaukee Bucks lose in the first round, they’ll likely feel enormous pressure to make a move to appease Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, respectively. I’ve already touched on the idea of a trade revolving around Paul George and Michael Porter Jr., but it’s harder to imagine a workable deal with the Bucks. If anything, the Sixers could try to wiggle their way in as a third team in a larger trade.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks aren’t as imminently under the gun with Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson as the Nuggets and Bucks are with Jokić and Giannis, but both made big changes this past offseason with an eye on a deep playoff run. Losing in the first round could make them reevaluate whether they have the right cores in place moving forward. With that said, trading for Julius Randle might be the one way to make the current Sixers an even more miserable experience.
I’d also be eyeing asset-rich teams like the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. The Rockets are clearly on the ascent and have repeatedly been linked to Kevin Durant on the rumor mill, although longtime NBA insider Marc Stein has repeatedly downplayed their interest in him because of his age. They’d presumably have the same concerns with Paul George, but if Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta gets antsy to accelerate their rebuild, the Sixers could be well-positioned to take advantage.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies just fired head coach Taylor Jenkins in late March and are getting annihilated by the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s the kind of beatdown that raises questions about whether they can feasibly run back the same core in the hope that new coaching helps bridge the gap. If not, Ja Morant might be quietly available this summer, which might open the door for three- or four-team trade frameworks that the Sixers could sneak into.
A two-parter here!
I don’t think Cooper Flagg is quite on the level of Victor Wembanyama as a prospect, but I get the impression that whichever team wins the No. 1 pick will not be open for business. It seems like the gap between him and Dylan Harper is fairly large. I’d think at the very least, the Sixers would need to give up No. 2, Jared McCain and a fully unprotected future first-round pick, and I’m honestly not even sure if that would be enough.
Regardless of what happens in the lottery, I’d be surprised if the Sixers try to trade PG this offseason. It seems like they still believe in their Big Three and want to see what they look like with better health next year, even if that might be a pipe dream. Besides, Flagg might be the one prospect in this year’s draft who could salvage whatever’s left of this Big Three era. He’d presumably make Kelly Oubre Jr. expendable, but I don’t see why he couldn’t play alongside George as the Sixers’ other starting forward.
But if the Big Three go bust again next year, landing Flagg might make the Sixers less reluctant to move on from George and/or Joel Embiid in 2026.
As I mentioned above, I’m not sure the Sixers could feasibly put together a package for the No. 1 overall pick, particularly if they send their first-rounder this year to OKC. Even a deal centered around Tyrese Maxey likely wouldn’t be enough.
With that said, it is briefly worth exploring the Sixers’ trade assets in general, because that’s the one thing differentiating them from the truly stuck teams (aka, the Phoenix Suns).
Hypothetically, let’s say the Sixers lose their first-round pick this year. In that scenario, they’d owe a top-eight-protected 2027 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets, but they otherwise have full control over all of their first-rounders moving forward. They also have a fully unprotected 2028 first-round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers and the right to swap first-rounders with the Clippers in 2029 if the Clippers’ pick isn’t in the top three.
The Sixers couldn’t trade their 2026 first-rounder because of the Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from being without a first-round pick in back-to-back drafts. But since they have the Clippers’ 2028 first-rounder, they would be able to trade 2028, 2030 and 2032 first-round picks after this year’s draft, along with pick swaps in 2026, 2029 and 2031.
The Sixers have traded away their 2026 and 2030 second-round picks, but they otherwise have control over all of their other ones. However, they can’t trade their 2028 second-rounder since it’s conditionally tied up in the first-round pick that they owe to Brooklyn. (If the first-rounder doesn’t convey to Brooklyn by 2028, the Sixers will send them their 2028 second-rounder instead.) Beyond that, the Sixers get the more favorable of the Warriors/Suns’ 2027 second-round pick, a fully unprotected Warriors second-round pick in 2028, a fully unprotected Wizards second-rounder in 2030 and the more favorable of the Suns/Blazers’ second-round pick in 2030.
Got all that? No? The TL;DR: The Sixers could trade as many as three first-round picks, three first-round swaps and nine (!) second-round picks after this year’s draft. The extra second-round currency is exactly why they flipped what figures to be a late 2026 first-round pick to the Wizards at this year’s trade deadline. Rotation players tend to go for two or three second-rounders at the deadline (see: Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder), so the Sixers now have plenty of ammunition to make midseason shakeups as needed.
To some extent, this depends on how this year’s draft lottery shakes out. If the Sixers finish in the top six and keep their first-round pick, they’ll owe a top-four-protected pick to OKC in 2026. That would give them more incentive to tank next year, particularly if they deal with another relentless wave of injuries.
With that said… no, they aren’t going to throw away an entire season with Embiid and George if both are healthy. They need to see what they have in this Big Three, if only to know whether it’s feasible to continue building around them or if they need to blow it up in 2026.
Multiple teams seem to be lining up to have max cap space in 2026. The Sixers might have a get-out-of-jail-free card that offseason, particularly if Embiid and/or George stay healthy next season.
Thanks as always for the questions this week! Enjoy the playoffs, and we’ll see you back here at the same time next week.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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