Reviews of the 76ers’ trade with the Boston Celtics were not entirely positive.
It’s usually difficult to start young, developing players for a season of consistent minutes when your team is contending for the playoffs. Jaden Springer, the 2021 first-round selection of the Philadelphia 76ers, struggled in his sophomore season to establish a reliable role outside of the G League.
Under first-year head coach Nick Nurse, it was anticipated that Springer would finally find a spot in the Sixers rotation in the 2023–2024 NBA season. Even though he averaged a career-high amount of minutes and played in more NBA games than ever this year, Springer was not in the starting lineup when the team was healthy.
Springer was not known to be on the Sixers’ trade block prior to the 2024 trade deadline. The Sixers were anticipated to be active in the trade market while concentrating on moving other prospects because they were a team with a few veterans on expiring contracts who were thought to be tradeable.
The Sixers dealt away some of the players who were hoping for a change of scenery as they were active in the trade market. Many were taken aback when Springer, the team’s rival in the Atlantic Division, was acquired by Philly in their fourth and final trade of the day.
The Sixers received a 2024 second-round pick from Boston in return for Springer. In the end, they’ll choose the better pick between the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Due to conflicting opinions about the trade, Morey was forced to defend the move after the deadline on Friday.
“Our goal is to win the title,” asserted Morey. We had to consider the likelihood that Jaden Springer, who I believe has a bright future, would assist our rotation in the next one, two, or three years. And what are our chances of benefiting from the second-round pick? The second-round pick, in our opinion, benefits us more. That is the simple truth. It enables us to go acquire things like a veteran by the deadline for the following year. We enjoyed the trade of one second-round pick for the best player and the net of Jaden and Pat [Beverley], who was going to play less here. Thus, we succeeded.
When the Sixers drafted Springer out of Tennessee, he was coming off of his freshman season and was recognized as one of the youngest players in the draft pool. Considering his lack of playing experience beyond the preps level, Morey and the Sixers knew they had to remain patient with Springer’s development.
Morey clarified, “That was a pick that we would generally rather push into the future.” Or, in the event that we choose someone, we believe they will either support us on the court or wind up in a situation similar to this where you’re still able to use them to go get a Buddy Hield, correct? The Jaden experiment worked for me. If someone wants to write the opposite, I’m totally cool with it. Looking at late-first and into the second round, you’ll see that eighty-five percent of those players are either untradeable, don’t contribute to their team on the floor, or can’t be traded for a player that would help you acquire another player. That was done by Jaden. I must continue to concentrate on the now a postseason squad. Whatever the case, that’s our main concern.
In terms of development, Springer’s offense was clearly still a work in progress three years into his run as a professional. In 32 games, the young guard hit just 39 percent of his shots from the field and 22 percent of his threes. The 76ers were well aware of his defensive value, but that didn’t help them view Springer as a player who can bring value to the table soon.
“Jaden’s gonna be really good,” Morey finished. “I think his timetable is a little pushed out, though. Our evaluation, and if we’re wrong, then we’re wrong. Then you guys can all write it, it’s fine. Our evaluation was that his timetable to help a playoff team is farther out than what the second-round pick could do for us.”
The Sixers can choose to select a new rookie with the return pick, or they can use it as an asset in a future trade, given that Springer is now a second-round pick. The Celtics will keep working on Springer in the hopes that they can find a role for him before the 76ers did.
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