The Sixers are remaining calm at trade deadline despite recent slide: ‘Whatever happens, happens’
The Sixers have an array of assets that could be used to bolster their roster without Joel Embiid. But the players are trying not to dwell on the uncertainty.
KJ Martin was traded twice between July 1 and Nov. 1, including in the late-night hours as part of the early-season James Harden blockbuster.
“I feel like that’s the craziest it can get,” Martin said Sunday of his four-month jaunt from the Houston Rockets, to the Los Angeles Clippers, to the 76ers.
Still, Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline arrives at an interesting point in the schedule for the Sixers, who have lost seven of their past eight games in the aftermath of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid’s knee surgery and a barrage of other health woes. One reason for a quiet locker-room atmosphere before and after Wednesday’s 127-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors was simply because so many banged-up players were either not preparing for the game or had already left the building before the media was permitted to enter.
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Another was that players are trying not to dwell on the uncertainty that hovers in the hours, minutes, and seconds leading up to 3 p.m. Thursday.
“People might be a little bit on edge, but I feel like this team handled it well,” third-year guard Jaden Springer said after the game. “If anything, we all just laugh and make jokes about it. … I feel like everybody, for the most part, is locked in to where we’re at right now.
“And I feel like whatever happens, happens. I don’t think anybody’s too worried or too pressed about anything.”
The Sixers were always viewed as an interesting team entering the trade deadline. They had replenished assets, including expiring contracts and draft picks, in the early-season Harden deal. And before this slide, they were considered a championship contender or fringe contender, with the potential to add to or tweak the roster in a way that could catapult them to the top. President of basketball operations Daryl Morey also is known for his aggressive deal-making, including acquiring Harden from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a holding-out Ben Simmons at the deadline two years ago.
Those current Sixers on expiring contracts range from starters (Tobias Harris, Nico Batum, De’Anthony Melton), to key rotation players (Kelly Oubre Jr., Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington), to end-of-bench players (Martin, Danuel House Jr., Mo Bamba, Furkan Korkmaz).
Coach Nick Nurse acknowledged that roster construction is “unique,” and that “most people that are out there talking about tradable pieces always mention guys on expiring contracts, in every other sentence.”
“All those guys that have them obviously know who they are,” Nurse added. “So they know there’s higher possibilities there.”
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Springer also believes an intangible helping calm the Sixers’ collective nerves or stress is that they are a veteran-laden squad used to this key date on the NBA calendar. Still, Martin said he was “kind of shocked and surprised” when he was moved from the Clippers to the Sixers three games into the regular season. And Korkmaz, who has publicly requested a trade multiple times during his Sixers tenure, said “I don’t think [deadline day]” is easy for anybody.”
“You just sit at home,” Korkmaz said, “and then wait for what happens for your career, you know?”
The past two weeks have illustrated that the Sixers would welcome reinforcements, perhaps in the form of a reserve big man, a ball handler, or an outside shooter. Nurse added that, if his team can, “make any upgrades to your 12th guy, ninth guy, seventh guy … and they’re good deals, then you should do it.”
Yet when pressed on if the Sixers need to make a move, the coach reiterated a trust in Morey that dates back to when they were both with the Rockets organization. Nurse, then the coach of the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, spent summers helping evaluate draft prospects and free agents alongside Morey’s front-office staff.
“Part of the reason I came here and I’ve worked with him a lot,” Nurse said of Morey, “is he knows what he’s doing.”
Multiple notable leaguewide trades — OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks, Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers, even Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks and Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics before training camps opened — have already occurred. Three small deals — including one swap between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons involving potential backup point guard target Monte Morris and former Sixer Shake Milton — happened Wednesday.
Which means Thursday could be quiet. Or not. That is why Nurse had stressed earlier in the week that the Sixers needed to be “super professional, be super businesslike, super tough-minded” during their time in the arena and practice facility, then “have whatever discussions we need to have in between” those on-court sessions.
That includes an optional workout at the facility Thursday, while they all wait for 3 p.m.
“Get through tomorrow’s deadline,” Nurse said, “ … and then, hopefully, we can regroup and get some semblance back to where we were.”