The Philadelphia 76ers have been playing much better basketball as of late as they have eight of their last nine games. They had their 8-game winning streak end in a Tuesday loss to the Washington Wizards, but they have been playing terrific as of late.
Their strong play now has the Sixers back in the mix in the race to come out of the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean this roster is set. President Daryl Morey is always one to look out for any possible moves to help his team be in a better position moving forward.
HoopsHype has come up with a few candidates the Sixers can move before the Feb. 9 trade deadline and Sixers Wire will evaluate each option while also giving HoopsHype’s reasoning at the end.
Furkan Korkmaz
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It’s becoming clearer that Korkmaz is not exactly in Philadelphia’s rotation. He is averaging 11.3 minutes per game, the lowest since his rookie season, and as the Sixers look for more salary cap relief, he is a name to keep an eye on before the deadline as he’s averaging 4.2 points off the bench.
Jaden Springer
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Springer has the unfortunate situation of playing for a veteran team with championship aspirations. He has played a grand total of six games in 1-plus years with the Sixers after being a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA draft. There just haven’t been any available minutes for him. He will certainly be a candidate to be moved for the Sixers.
Matisse Thybulle
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Thybulle is averaging the fewest minutes of his career (11.3 minutes) per night despite the fact that Philadelphia is 4-1 when he starts and they are 6-0 when he plays over 20 minutes in a game. When considering that he did not agree to an extension with the Sixers before the season and that there are other players he has to battle with in the rotation, it makes him a trade candidate.
HoopsHype reasoning for including those three players
Philadelphia is about $1.1 million over the luxury tax, as calculated by Yossi Golzan. Given their limited roles this season, Matisse Thybulle, Forkan Korkmaz, and Jaden Springer could each be trade candidates to help the 76ers avoid that luxury tax bill.
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire