Armed with the third overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have a choice to make. They can draft a high-level prospect to add to a growing young core. Or, they can package the pick with a veteran and look to improve their championship chances in the coming years.
According to Jake Fischer, via the SteinLine Newsletter, the Sixers are dead set on using their draft pick.
“Sources say Philadelphia greatly values the opportunity to add a young player to its core, which already features 24-year-old Tyrese Maxey and soon-to-be-second-year guard Jared McCain to complement the veteran duo of Joel Embiid and Paul George,” Fischer reported.
Adding young talent is smart business. Cost-controlled talent is at a premium in the modern NBA, especially for teams in or around the second luxury-tax apron. However, straddling two development timelines is never a wise move.
Philadelphia can look toward the Golden State Warriors as a cautionary tale. Yes, they won a championship in 2022. But in truth, their youth played a marginal role. And now that Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have begun to hit the decline phase of their careers, Steve Kerr is struggling to find the right balance with his younger stars.
The truth is, you’re either a rebuilding team or a contending one. You can’t have one foot in either camp. Unfortunately for the Sixers fan base, that’s exactly what their team is doing. Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain represent the future. Joel Embiid and Paul George are the present, tasked with bringing a championship to the city.
76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is potentially making a significant mistake. Multiple teams around the league are on the precipice of hitting the reset button, and multiple stars are expected to hit the trade block in the coming weeks. Overlooking that opportunity for the dice roll that is the draft is a miscalculation for a team designed to contend now.
The Sixers could have learned from other teams’ mistakes. Instead, they’re pushing forward, believing things will be different for them.
Unfortunately for Morey and the Sixers front office, hubris has a way of being humbled.
