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Featured Columnist IVJanuary 27, 2025
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The Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly receiving plenty of interest in Guerschon Yabusele and Eric Gordon ahead of the February trade deadline as the team continues to struggle amidst an ongoing spate of injury issues.
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, Philly has “already received multiple trade offers from playoff-bound teams for Yabusele, who has been an effective addition to the Sixers’ frontcourt after his strong play in the Olympics for the silver-medal-winning hosts. … Word is there has likewise been trade interest registered in veteran guard Eric Gordon, who is shooting nearly 50 percent from three-point range in 14 games in January. The belief is that the Sixers want to gauge results over the next week-plus before firming up their trade deadline approach.”
The Sixers find themselves in a bit of a pickle ahead of the trade deadline.
On one hand, the team is just 17-27, there’s little guarantee that their injury-prone superstars will either get healthy (Joel Embiid) or stay healthy (Paul George) enough to make a playoff run, and they owe a top-six protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA draft. There’s an argument to be made that the Sixers should be sellers ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline and regroup for next year.
On the other hand, they are just one game back of the Chicago Bulls for the final Play-In Tournament berth in the Eastern Conference and only 5.5 games back of the Detroit Pistons for the final guaranteed playoff spot. Even if they tank the rest of the way they could still easily end up outside of the top six at the draft, sacrificing a lottery pick in the process, and punting on a season is a risky proposition given how narrow their title window is due to George’s age (34) and Embiid’s extensive injury history.
It won’t help the team’s evaluation much that they’ll be without both George and Embiid for at least Tuesday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, and potentially beyond.
Kyle Neubeck @KyleNeubeck
Update: Sixers now say Embiid will not play tomorrow or Wednesday against the Lakers or Kings https://t.co/Fh8pCZjzMP
As for their potential trade chips, the Sixers reportedly “love” Yabusele, per Stein, and it’s easy enough to see why. The 29-year-old been a revelation in Philly, marking his return to the NBA after a six-year stint overseas by averaging 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 39.4 percent from three.
Floor-stretching big men aren’t easy to come by, and Yabusele has more than proven he can contribute to an NBA contender.
As for Gordon, the 36-year-old guard has had an up-and-down season, scoring just 6.7 points per game. But he’s hit more of a stride in January, averaging 9.1 points across 14 games while shooting 49.2 percent from beyond the arc and registering eight games with double-digit points, which is more in line with what the Sixers were expecting when they signed him.
So big decisions are coming for the Sixers. A recent two-game winning streak ended a brutal stretch between late December and January that saw the team lose 11 of 13. If the Sixers can string together a few more wins, they may be able to salvage their season, but they are quickly running out of time to do so.