The Philadelphia 76ers would be making a bad situation even worse if they ended up trading their top 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
After a truly disastrous season, the Philadelphia 76ers caught some unexpected luck at the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. With so much on the line, the 76ers managed to move up a couple of spots at the lottery and will now be selecting No. 3 overall at the 2025 NBA Draft. With plenty of flexibility with this asset, the last thing they need to do is blow the opportunity with a bad move. Trading the pick, which is already been speculated, at the NBA Draft would be the big mistake that this team needs to avoid.
The 76ers shouldn't misuse a gift from the basketball gods, and that's exactly what they'd be doing by trading this pick. To be quite honest, with where their roster stands at this point, the 76ers can't afford to trade the No. 3 overall pick in a relatively deep draft. With the uncertainty revolving the health and age of both Joel Embiid and Paul George, the argument can be made that this team's championship window may be closing soon, if it already hasn't - or if it was ever open.
The 76ers should ride their youth movement
If there is any accuracy to that line of thinking, it would make sense for the 76ers to embrace the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft as they look to add more talent to their young core. Despite having a roster that many believe could compete for a championship under the right circumstances, the 76ers also have quietly developed a strong young core.
With the continued emergence of Tyrese Maxey and the surprise development of Jared McCain, the 76ers have a quality young foundation. Adding to that with a strong young prospect with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft could go a long way in helping this team find a path beyond the Embiid build.
This is not to say that the 76ers should already be thinking of an exit route off the Embiid build, but it's certainly not a bad thing to have a plan B in place in the event disaster strikes again in the future. Trading the No. 3 overall pick for a veteran contributor or another veteran star who could help the team win in the next 2-3 years could end up being a massive misstep for the franchise.
At this point, the 76ers should not be open to trading any of their young assets, especially with how this past season played out. Philly was blessed by the basketball gods with an unexpected opportunity. Mistreating is a great way of building bad karma for the future.
The 76ers aren't a rebuilding team, but in many ways, they should be managing their assets as if they are. If Philly plays this offseason right, the future could be very bright for this franchise. Trading the No. 3 overall pick would be the opposite of that. It'd be a move that they would almost certainly regret down the line.