The pros and cons of a Sixers trade for Kyle Lowry | Off the Dribble

Good morning, Sixers fans. The team and fans get a little time to catch their breath. After Wednesday’s 109-105 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Sixers had off Thursday and were to return to practice Friday. On Saturday, they will host the Sacramento Kings.

Practices have been few and far between in this condensed NBA season. We are now less than a week away from the March 25 trade deadline, and the question is: Will the Sixers make any key moves?

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

Is Toronto’s Kyle Lowry really going to be available, and if so, could the Sixers bring him back to his home city? The Sixers are talented enough to contend as they are, but Lowry could put them over the top.

Then again, the Eastern Conference has become so top-heavy with stars that no addition could guarantee a championship. That said, Lowry would make the Sixers tough to beat. But at what expense?

» READ MORE: Three reasons the Sixers lost in OT to Milwaukee

Lowry is on the final year of an expiring contract that pays $30.5 million. Because of salary-cap rules, the Sixers would have to send back more than $24 million in salary. That means it would be virtually impossible to acquire Lowry without sending Toronto at least one starter.

With Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris off the table, either Danny Green or Seth Curry would realistically have to be included. According to Hoopshype.com, Green has an expiring contract worth $15,36 million. Curry is earning $7.8 million.

Mike Scott, also on an expiring contract of $5 million, would likely have to be included.

Toronto (17-23) entered Thursday 11th in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are only three games behind the No. 6 seed. Will they be buyers or sellers, or neither?

If the Raptors are going to trade Lowry to an Eastern Conference opponent such as the Sixers, they should want some value, even on an expiring contract.

Lowry is playing as hard as ever, apparently not bothered by any trade rumors. In his last eight games, he has averaged 17.9 points, 10.8 assists, and 6.1 rebounds.

The Sixers might have to include Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey in any deal for Lowry. This trade, which we put through the ESPN trade machine, would work: Lowry for Green, Scott, Thybulle and Maxey.

The Sixers could offer future first-round picks, but how valuable will that be since they are expected to be contenders for several seasons?

Would the Sixers give up young assets for a player who will turn 35, coincidentally, on March 25, who can also be a free agent after the season?

It’s a lot to ask. Thybulle has taken his defense up another level this season. Maxey has shown plenty of promise even though he isn’t a consistent rotation player.

» READ MORE: Sixers coach Doc Rivers says there is plenty of room for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to both be great

The Sixers will look back at Wednesday’s loss and regret letting one slip away.

Keith Pompey has his best and worst awards from the Sixers’ loss to the Bucks.

David Murphy writes that there was a lot to like, and other areas to be concerned about in Wednesday’s loss to the Bucks

From Pompey: Doc Rivers speaks out against the rise of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans.

Ben Simmons on defending in today’s less-physical league: ‘It’s the NBA. No boys allowed.’

When the Sixers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, they will be facing the team with the longest current playoff drought in the NBA. The Kings have missed the playoffs the previous 14 seasons. Their last playoff season was also the last time they had a winning record. They were 44-38 in 2005-06.

Mike Bibby led the Kings that season in scoring, averaging 21.1 points. He’s been retired for nine years.

The closest the Kings have come to a .500 season during their postseason drought was 39-43 in 2018-19. That team was coached by current Sixers assistant Dave Joerger.

At 16-24 this season, the Kings will be hard-pressed to earn a postseason berth even with the play-in tournament that involves the No. 7-10 seeds in each conference.

Here are the longest current playoff droughts for the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, and the last year they qualified for the postseason:

MLB: Seattle Mariners, 19 seasons, 2001

NBA: Sacramento Kings 14 seasons, 2005-06

NFL: New York Jets 10 seasons, 2010

NHL: Buffalo Sabres, 9 seasons, 2010-11

Saturday: Sacramento Kings at Sixers, 8 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

Sunday: Sixers at New York Knicks, 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Tuesday: Sixers at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m., Chase Center, TNT/NBC Sports Philadelphia

Thursday: Sixers at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m., Staples Center, TNT

March 27: Sixers at Los Angeles Clippers, 10 p.m. Staples Center, NBC Sports Philadelphia/NBA TV

Question: Since start of his NBA career, how does Joel Embiid compare to his position peers in number of games missed due to injury? — Michael Spear from Facebook

Answer: Thanks, Michael. That is a really interesting question. If you count the two entire seasons that Embiid missed while starting his NBA career with the foot injuries, he has missed 284 games. This is his seventh season. If you subtract those first two years, he has missed 120, including 10 this season.

Nikola Jokic of Denver has been durable compared to that. This is his sixth season, and he has missed just 20 games after playing all 73 last year and all 40 so far this season. Rudy Gobert of Utah is in his eighth season, but I am not counting his first because he began it in the G League and appeared in only 45 NBA games. In the next seven seasons, he has missed 55, having played in all 82 once and 81 twice. This year, he hasn’t missed a game.

I think you get the picture. These two All-Stars have been a lot more durable than Embiid.

Send questions by email to mnarducci@inquirer.com or @sjnard on Twitter.