8. Philadelphia 76ers
With the James Harden trade saga officially in the books, the Philadelphia 76ers finally have the opportunity to move on. And moving on has looked pretty good at least through the first couple of weeks of the season. The Sixers have the look of a team that could emerge as a serious dark horse in the Eastern Conference. And if they add another piece before the push toward the playoffs, they would solidify themselves among the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
Joel Embiid is well on his way to another possible MVP campaign and Tyrese Maxey appears to have taken another step in his progression. If those two continue to play at a high level, there’s not much that is stopping the Sixers from finishing as a top 3 or 4 team in the conference. Considering what the expectation was for this team after Harden demanded a trade, the Sixers are sitting pretty at the moment.
Health permitting, the Sixers have plenty of options ahead of them. And they’ll have the chance to be quite an intriguing team heading into the deadline.