Philadelphia 76ers: Belief
Daryl Morey was slinging trades left and right at the deadline. The 76ers had a decision to make, either keep the current roster construction in the hopes Joel Embiid returns or improve the roster to better compete now for when/if Embiid returns to the court. The Sixers chose the latter.
The Sixers acquired a couple of future second-rounders, but the pickups of Cam Payne and Buddy Hield should help drastically improve this offense. The load on Tyrese Maxey's shoulders is a bit too much at the moment. It doesn't hurt to bring in another ball handler in addition to a lights-out three-point shooter capable of taking over games in an instant. Morey is showing the City of Brotherly Love what it means to believe.
Phoenix Suns: Pricey
The Suns brought in Royce O'Neale from the Brooklyn Nets and David Roddy from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade. The Suns gave up quite a bit to get the deal done. The Suns sent out four rotation pieces along with a 2026 first-round pick swap and three second-round picks.
Roddy shouldn't expect to see much court time, so essentially all the capital given up in the trade was for O'Neale. Don't get me wrong, he's a fine player, but that is a bit of an overpay. The Suns are looking to become real players in the West, sometimes the NBA deadline takes advantage of those looking to improve their rosters. This was a pricey acquisition for a glorified role player.