The Philadelphia 76ers are four games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the same spot they finished last year when they beat the Chicago Bulls, reeling from Derrick Rose's injury, in the first round.
NBA trade rumors: Sixers GM demure on potential for moves
Tony DiLeo said he’s taking calls and proposing trades, but won’t do anything with a short-term goal in mind.
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This year, however, the 76ers have already made their big move in the offseason, acquiring Andrew Bynum while trading away Andre Iguodala. Bynum has missed every game and every practice this season recovering from a knee injury and, because the team has yet to even play as a full unit, Sixers GM Tony DiLeo said there won't be any moves to jeopardize the long-term goal he had in mind when he traded for Bynum. The Philadelphia Daily News reports.
“I’ve talked with everyone throughout the league - made the phone calls, taken the phone calls,” DiLeo said. “As I’ve said, we are not going to jeopardize our future to try to find something to help us short-term. We are looking to the future. We listen to what everyone proposes, and we propose some things, too. Things will probably heat up the closer you get to the deadline, they always do. We’ll just have to see what happens.
“What’s disappointing is that we haven’t seen the team that we assembled for this season - not in one game, not in one practice. So we have no idea what this team could be.”
Daily News reporter Bob Cooney writes that fans shouldn't expect the rumored Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes-for-Josh Smith trade that's flying around, as Smith will be a free agent after this year.
This is a realistic point of view to take. Midseason trades are a gamble no matter what, because there's no telling how a team will mesh with new pieces thrown in the middle. The Sixers are decently far away from the eighth seed, which would mean a first-round matchup with the Miami Heat. There is no incentive for them to give up on Turner, a former No. 2 pick, this quickly just to try to get bounced in the first round.
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