NBA Rumors: Sixers could land a stellar defender at a reasonable price

The Philadelphia 76ers have knocked on the door of NBA championship contention for quite a while, but not even pairing up James Harden with Joel Embiid has been enough to get over the hump.

Harden is reportedly looking to force his way out to play for the Los Angeles Clippers, but the latter don’t seem to be that serious about making a big offer for him.

With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s NBA staff came up with a very interesting trade idea. Given that Harden is unlikely to be traded, they could ramp up their defense with a trade for a Houston Rockets role player.

NBA Rumors: Sixers Could Trade For Jae’Sean Tate

(Via Bleacher Report)

“Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Jae’Sean Tate

Houston Rockets Receive: Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz, Philadelphia’s 2027 second-round pick, Portland’s 2029 second-round pick

Tate’s shaky outside shot renders him less than plug-and-play, but he’s an excellent value proposition. Knee and ankle injuries limited him to 31 games last season, and he has since toppled down the Rockets’ depth chart following the arrivals of Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and Cam Whitmore, not to mention the emergence of Tari Eason.

Landing Tate for two seconds and two fringe-rotation players is (inter)stellar business. He brings defensive pressure up and down the perimeter, some spot ball-handling and shot better than 53 percent on drives last season.”

While this might not be the most exciting transaction, it could end up having a major impact, as the Sixers already have more than enough scoring and could use more stoppers right now.