Nothing has gone right for the Philadelphia 76ers over the past few years with coaches coming and going while draft picks and trades haven’t panned out. Although the Sixers’ last draft pick, Michael Carter-Williams, has been arguably the best choice in recent memory, Philadelphia might be considering trading the point guard to usher in a potential upgrade.
According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, the Sixers could be considering trading Carter-Williams and drafting Dante Exum:
The Philadelphia 76ers are Exum fans as well and if Wiggins is off the board, he’s in the mix. They think Exum and Carter-Williams could play together in the backcourt, though it would not be a very good shooting tandem. I think the more obvious fit comes if they trade Carter-Williams, an idea I’m told they have bounced around.
Exum stock seems to continue to rise even though many haven’t seen much of him on the court. The Orlando Magic have also been rumored to be very high on the combo guard with the prospect of pairing him with Victor Oladipo in the backcourt. Exum may be considered a point guard heading into the draft, but many believe he may be more of a shooting guard in the NBA making him versatile and that much more desirable on draft day.
The Sixers willing to trade the reigning Rookie of the Year is surprising, to say the least. Exum could be a wildcard with no telling if he’ll adjust to the level of talent he’ll face on a nightly basis in the NBA, but many are high on this prospect’s ability and potential with less than a month to go before the draft.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked with Exum over the past few months more than any team in the league. If Los Angeles had a higher pick, it would likely be a foregone conclusion that they’d draft the 19-year-old, but with the team sitting with the seventh pick, it’s a stretch at this point that Exum will fall that far.
Anything can happen on draft day with trades changing scenarios and teams going in different directions than expected, but it seems more realistic that Exum lands in Philadelphia or Orlando rather than Los Angeles.