76ers Trade 39th Pick to the Lakers

After the fall of House Colangelo, questions were still up in the air about how the 76ers were going to function this off season. Sure, Brett Brown has taken up the banner of interim GM and is the face of their free agency pitch. While “collaborative effort” has been the popular refrain, who was going to make the tough calls when it came to the draft and trades? Would the 76ers take a conservative approach by standing pat and not do-

LOOK OUT! IT’S A WOJ BOMB!

With the first move of the post-Colangelo era, the 76ers recycle the 39th pick for a 2019 2nd rounder and cash! The 39th pick was initially acquired in a trade with the New York Knicks that sent Arnett Moultrie (*loud groan*) to NY for Travis Outlaw (!) and a 2nd rounder. In return for the 39th pick, the 76ers receive a 2019 2nd rounder via the Bulls (potentially another high 2nd rounder).

Looks like GM BroVerHen (Brown, Eversley, and Cohen?), or whoever is ultimately in charge, wanted to get a head of the draft to make a move that almost everyone expected. The 76ers were coming into Thursday night with 6 selections. With limited roster spots, there was no way that the team was going to make every pick.

What is surprising is how early Philly made this type of trade, ahead of the draft. While the trade itself is absolutely sensible, what was stopping them from making a similar type of one tomorrow? It seemed more prudent to make a move like this during the draft, as it shakes out. In a scenario where the Sixers wanted to move up a few spots in the late first, they now lack a minor asset to facilitate. In a scenario where someone falls in the 2nd and there are multiple bidders, they could have potentially extracted additional value.

Ultimately, we’re talking about a minor transaction, one of many over the next 24 hours. But something about the ‘process’ irks me. (Or I’m just nitpicking for the heck of it)

Oh right, never mind. I forgot about Mr. Cash Considerations. Maybe BroVerHen wanted to get this out of the way?