76ers show interest in defending Sixth Man of the Year

With reigning MVP Joel Embiid on the shelf for the foreseeable future, the Philadelphia 76ers are in dire need of some reinforcements ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. 

According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, they recently engaged the Portland Trail Blazers about the availability of defending Sixth Man of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon.  

"The Sixers made inquiries about Portland's Malcolm Brogdon, sources told PHLY, in the hope of adding the versatile veteran guard to their rotation," Neubeck wrote. "As of now, however, Brogdon appears to be staying in Portland, with the Blazers content to hold onto Brogdon unless they are bowled over with an offer." 

While the Blazers seemingly turned the Sixers away, it shows the desperation of a team holding on to hope. Recently, the team's strategy approaching the deadline was reportedly to acquire contracts that provide "financial flexibility" in the offseason. 

They allegedly have an interest in Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield and forward Bojan Bogdanovic while also targeting several big men in Utah Jazz' Kelly Olynyk and former Sixer Andre Drummond of the Chicago Bulls. 

However, Bogdanovic is the only player in that group under contract for 2024-25, and his deal is only partially guaranteed. Meanwhile, Brogdon is on the books for $22.5M next season, showing that the NBA trade market might feature slimmer pickings than initially thought. 

Neubeck confirmed as much, saying despite the Sixers making calls throughout the league, they've hit "roadblocks" at every turn. 

Meanwhile, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse also shared the same sentiments on the futility of the trade market. 

"Most people are talking about how this is going to be a quiet trade day tomorrow after, I don't know, 40,000 of them last year," Nurse told Howard Eskin of 94 WIP. "There seems to be very few possibly going to happen." 

Of course, Nurse isn't going to divulge inside info and could be only playing coy. Nevertheless, all signs point to little, if any, action before 3 p.m. EST on Thursday.