The Sixers got under the tax and took a small step back at the NBA trade deadline

The shaping of the 76ers took a step backward this week … perhaps just momentarily.

The team moved on from Jared McCain, a fan favorite and 2025 Rookie of the Year front-runner, and seldom-used veteran guard Eric Gordon before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Sixers acquired a first-round pick, three second-rounders, and a second-round pick swap.

McCain was shipped to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in exchange for the Houston Rockets’ 2026 first-round pick and three second-round selections. One of the second-rounders is the most favorable 2027 pick from the Thunder, Rockets, Indiana Pacers, and the Miami Heat. The other second-rounders are the 2028 picks that previously belonged to the Milwaukee Bucks and Thunder.

Then, around 2 p.m. on Thursday, the Sixers agreed to send Gordon and the right to swap second-round picks in 2032 to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Justinian Jessup.

» READ MORE: Sixers trading Eric Gordon to Memphis in exchange for a second-round pick swap

Shedding those players’ salaries gives the Sixers just over $7.6 million in cap space under the first apron. That means they can sign players on the buyout market in addition to using up to $8 million in a trade exception to acquire a player.

After the deadline, the Sixers signed forward Patrick Baldwin to a 10-day contract and center Charles Bassey to his second 10-day stint, giving the Sixers 14 standard contracts. The team added those Baldwin and Bassey as they continue to assemble a full standard roster of 15 players. Doing so will enable starting power forward Dominick Barlow, who’s on a two-way contract, to remain available for NBA games.

Once they add another player, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound Barlow can be active for only 10 more games. The Sixers intend to convert his contract once his two-way availability expires.

But for now, they’re not in a good situation.

The buyout market will be key for the Sixers if they don’t sign Baldwin and Bassey for the remainder of the season.

Baldwin was the 28th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA draft. On July 6, 2023, he was traded to the Washington Wizards.

The 7-foot, 220-pound player has averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 37.7% on three-pointers in a combined 95 games with the Warriors, Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers.

Meanwhile, Bassey was not active for any games with the Sixers during the initial 10-day deal that he signed on Jan. 26. However, he excelled for their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Before the trade deadline, the Sixers had a 29-21 record and were riding a five-game winning streak. Even though they were fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, they were regarded as the league’s most dangerous team.

With Joel Embiid healthy and playing at a high level, the thought was that they could beat any team on any given night. And it didn’t matter that Paul George is in the midst of serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

Kelly Oubre Jr., Barlow, and VJ Edgecombe took up the slack during the first three games that he missed.

Since then, the Sixers traded away players who were well-liked in the locker room for what on the surface appear to be moves to help them get below the luxury tax threshold.

» READ MORE: Jared McCain traded to OKC Thunder for first-round pick and three second-round selections

But it’s still too early to fully judge the moves that were made.

McCain was exceptional in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2024. But he struggled with consistency this season, leaving him out of the rotation. Gordon played in only six games, with his last appearance coming Dec. 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.

So these moves were made on the margins and will only be crystalized once we see how they affect the roster this season and what they do with their draft picks in the future.

But in the interim, the Sixers got a little worse over two days while several contenders in the East improved.