The 2025 NBA Draft is right around the corner and there are plenty of questions still to be answered about how the class will shake out and who is going to end up picking where.
The Philadelphia 76ers lucked into the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and with that selection have a few interesting names on the board to try to flush out this roster and have a bounce back season.
However, the odds are slim that the 76ers can pick up a win-now player at No. 3 that as a rookie can make a championship level impact in the wide open Eastern Conference.
The 76ers should be aiming to move on from Paul George for the sake of future cap flexibility and in the latest Mock Draft by Draft Expert Derek Parker, he took a crack at cooking up mock trades as well. This included a trade of George to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“At no. 3 we have our first trade of the mock draft but a potentially realistic one as the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to get back into contention after a down year. There are a ton of suitors looking to trade up including the Jazz, Wizards and Nets but I tried to look at teams that could use Ace Bailey specifically but I do not love the fit with any of those teams. But I love the fit with Portland. In this hypothetical deal, the Trail Blazers off loads two great players in Jerami Grant and Anfree Simons but adds the No. 3 pick outright without giving up No. 11 and adds a potential reclamation project in Paul George. The 76ers give up George and No. 3 but add two high impact starting level players to immediately add to their core. Grant specifically at this point is a likely upgrade over George you also get a phenomenal off-guard option in Simons but most importantly sure up some future financal flexibility…Portland eventually takes Ace Bailey who in theory would be the pefect piece to grow in their current core…The good news here is there are a ton of flexibility for these two teams to add to the bones of this deal,” Parker explains.
Philadelphia would be getting a win now upgrade while the Trail Blazers grab a fun young piece to continue to rebuild its roster.
