NBA Draft Trade Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers Looking To Trade Draft Picks, Select Josh Jackson?
NBA draft trade rumors have the Philadelphia 76ers looking to make some moves. The 76ers have five picks in the 2017 NBA Draft and are looking to deal multiple selections from their stash of second-round picks. A report by ESPN confirmed that the 76ers are looking to make a trade before, or during, the 2017 NBA draft.
In addition to controlling the No. 3 overall selection in the draft, the 76ers currently own Nos. 36, 39, 46, and 50. Adding five new players on draft day is simply too many and the front office in Philadelphia is fully aware of that fact. It could lead to more than one draft pick getting traded, but that first-round selection is likely off limits.
In the 2017 NBA draft order, the Philadelphia 76ers are in control of the first-round selection for the Sacramento Kings and the second-round selections for the New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Atlanta Hawks. In an interesting turn of events, though, they don’t actually control either of their own original picks in the draft. Sacramento owns both of those selections.
Teams like the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are working to add draft picks, meaning they are frequently mentioned in NBA draft trade rumors. Most recently, they have been linked to the Portland Trail Blazers, as that franchise has three first-round selections. The Blazers may look to deal them to improve the roster or to convince another franchise to take on some undesirable salaries.
Happy birthday to the one, the only, @alleniverson!???????? pic.twitter.com/0t0fkcIZZf
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 7, 2017
In a recent full two-round NBA mock draft, the Philadelphia 76ers were linked to some interesting players. The players that this particular NBA mock draft projected the 76ers to take are Kansas shooting guard Josh Jackson, South Carolina guard PJ Dozier, Colorado guard Derrick White, Latvia center Anzejs Pasecniks, and Latvia forward Verners Kohs. Drafting international players could be part of a strategy that the 76ers employ because if they don’t come over for the 2017-18 NBA season, they won’t count as rostered players yet.
Josh Jackson could be a very interesting player for the Philadelphia 76ers, as he projects as someone who could start at shooting guard or small forward in the NBA right now. Some NBA analysts are comparing him to Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler, with scouting reports stating that his basketball IQ is also very high. Playing just one season at Kansas, Jackson averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Jackson also looked good on defense, averaging 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Why the Philadelphia 76ers will replace the Cavaliers as the dominant power in the eastern conference https://t.co/AbwyXcPbv4 #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/g1L0iFYhMy
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 5, 2017
There are going to be a lot of other Philadelphia 76ers rumors during the NBA offseason, as the team has some question marks to deal with on the roster. A lot of players are coming off the payroll, meaning the front office could also decide to become active in free agency. Currently, the 76ers only have about $35.5 million in committed salaries, so the team would have to sign a few people just to meet the NBA’s salary floor.
With a core of Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Ben Simmons, 76ers fans have a reason to be excited about what the team might be able to do during the 2017-18 NBA season. Adding Josh Jackson to that mix along with a few key free agents might just make the 76ers good enough to make the NBA Playoffs. That would be a welcome change for a franchise that has routinely been at the top of the NBA Draft over the past few years. Could they lure a really good point guard in free agency? Or draft one instead of Josh Jackson?
Philadelphia 76ers fans should expect the team to get mentioned in a lot of deals over the next week, as the team is definitely interested in making moves. It’s possible that they simply look to deal some second-round picks for future selections, simply to maintain a static value. Either way, the 76ers are going to be prominent among 2017 NBA draft trade rumors until the big day in June.
[Featured Image by Jamie Squire/Getty Images]
