If you’re looking for a “The Sixers should go all in on acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo” column, you’ve come to the wrong place. Philly has tried hard over the last 5-10 years on making an external addition
next to homegrown stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to win a championship, and still hasn’t found a way to end its quarter-century Eastern Conference Finals drought. The truth is that if VJ Edgecombe is not put on the table, the Sixers have no shot at acquiring Antetokounmpo.
But that doesn’t mean they’re out of options as they look to better their team for the stretch run. It’s not impossible for Philadelphia to get as high as the two seed in the Eastern Conference, a spot they were only three games in the loss column behind New York and Boston for as of Saturday. Of course, the Sixers are hanging on by a thread to a top-six seed in the conference which avoids the play-in tournament, so there’s quite the jumble in the East behind first-place Detroit at the moment.
This season has always felt like a transition year for Philly, but they’ve played well enough to where some cautious buying at the deadline could make for an interesting spring. Here are some names we’re keeping an eye with the big day on the horizon:
Brice Sensabaugh
Age: 22
Team: Utah Jazz
Position: SF
2025-26 stats: 12 PPG, 3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 45.3% FG, 33.6% 3PTFG%
Remaining term on contract: Team option for 2026-27 before becoming a restricted free agent
Analysis: There is no doubt the Jazz will be sellers this week and Sensabaugh’s name could come up. He was drafted at the end of the first round in 2023 and has been primarily used off the bench in Salt Lake City. Sensabaugh’s defense leaves a lot to be desired but he could give Philly some nice secondary scoring on the wing. The Ohio State product had a 43-point game earlier in January against Chicago and has had four games of at least 22 points since then. He’s young enough to where Utah might still view him as part of its future, but if he hasn’t worked his way into the Jazz’s starting lineup after three seasons with the team, it’s fair to wonder how committed the organization is to him. For a Sixers team that needs to continue to add young, cost-controlled talent, Sensabaugh’s a name to watch.
Miles Bridges
Age: 27
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: SF/PF
2025-26 stats: 18.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.5 APG, 44.9 FG%, 33.4% 3PTFG%
Remaining term on contract: Signed thru 2026-27 and owed 22.8M next season
Analysis: This one’s probably the most expensive from a cost standpoint, but obviously when you pay more, you’re expecting a better player. It would probably take at least one first-rounder to acquire Bridges. If you’re the Sixers, is he worth parting with the high-valued 2028 LA Clippers unprotected first or the right to swap with the Clippers in 2029? If not, the earliest the Sixers can trade one of their own first rounders is 2030. Would Charlotte be willing to wait four years for its primary return and would the Sixers even be interested in trading away another one of their own first-round picks?
So clearly, there are some hurdles to clear on this one, but Bridges looks like your prototypical trade candidate with a seller. He’s been a productive scorer at all three levels for the Hornets, rebounds well for someone 6-foot-7, and his contractual status makes now sort of the perfect time for the Hornets to move on from him. Charlotte can get more for him if an acquiring team gets him for two playoff runs and he’s a good enough player to where a buyer may be motivated to have him for all of next season as well.
It’s worth noting Bridges’ recent history with domestic violence. Daryl Morey and the Sixers haven’t brought in players with that in their background and rumors of the team’s interest in Bridges in free agency a couple years go were shot down quickly.
Bobby Portis
Age: 30
Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Position: PF
2025-26 stats:13.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 48.6% FG%, 45.6 3PTFG%
Remaining term on contract: Signed for 2026-27 at 14.5M and has a player option for 2027-28 at 15.6M
Analysis: At 30 years old, Portis is probably the closest thing to a traditional “win-now” move if the Sixers are to acquire his services. One would think if the Bucks are taking calls on Giannis that everyone is available in Milwaukee and Portis is a pretty natural fit for Philadelphia. Standing at 6-foot-9 and shooting the ball so well from the perimeter, Portis could come right in and play a bulk of the minutes vacated by Paul George in light of George’s recent suspension. After Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and George, the Sixers do not have a ton of long-term commitments to other players so two more years in the future for Portis at approximately $15M per season doesn’t feel very burdensome. I would think Portis will be in demand this week so it’s possible another team makes a better offer, but he’s a solid choice for Morey and company, although they probably shouldn’t look to be adding anyone much older than Portis to the rotation this week.
Jalen Smith
Age: 25
Team: Chicago Bulls
Position: PF
2025-26 stats: 10.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.1% FG%, 38% 3PTFG%
Remaining term on contract: Signed thru 2026-27 for 9.4M
Analysis: Since being drafted in the lottery back in 2020, Smith has bounced around a little bit. He was selected 10th overall by Phoenix, but has spent the last four seasons in the Midwest having occupied spots on Indiana’s and now Chicago’s rosters. Where ever he has played, Smith has been almost exclusively a bench player and could be a stabilizing presence for Philadelphia on the glass. His approximately seven rebounds per game in just 20 minutes per game for the Bulls this season are certainly encouraging. The 38% figure from three-point land is also a career best for Smith. Who knows what the Bulls will do, but Smith figures to be an intriguing piece for any contender if Chicago decides to move him.
Herb Jones
Age: 27
Team: New Orleans Pelicans
Position: SF/PF
2025-26 stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 39.7% FG%, 30.4% 3PTFG%
Remaining term on contract: Signed thru 2028-29 with a player option for 2029-30
Analysis: I must end with a personal favorite of mine. After landing the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, Jones’s name came up a little bit in between the lottery and the draft as a possible trade target for the Sixers if they were looking to move back in the lottery and acquire a player from another team in the top 10. At the end of the day, sticking at three and taking Edgecombe was certainly the right move, but Jones has always been intriguing to me.
Perhaps it’s the 2023-24 season in which he was a first-team All-Defense selection and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting while also shooting 41.8% from the three-point line that I can’t get out of my head. Nevertheless, it feels like Jones is stuck in one of the NBA’s more irrelevant environments and could reach new heights elsewhere. He only played 20 games last season and dealt with an ankle sprain in January this year. Practically all of his numbers are down this season too. Is it possible New Orleans looks to get out of the remaining three years on his contract, not including the player option for 2029-30 right now? His salary increases each year in the future with a player option of over $24 million dollars for the 2029-30 season. There’s risk here, but I still think there’s some upside.
