ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne dropped a bombshell on Valentine’s Day after they reported that the Golden State Warriors apparently made an “unsuccessful bid” to bring Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James to The Bay Area and pair him with Stephen Curry. The Philadelphia 76ers also reportedly tried their hand at acquiring James, but were immediately shut down by Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. But 76ers GM Daryl Morey did not just stop with James. Reportedly, the 76ers also inquired the Phoenix Suns about the availability of Kevin Durant. Of course, the Suns, who are still right in the thick of the championship picture, also turned Morey away.
It’s hard not to respect Morey for at least trying, though they were feeble attempts, especially the Durant one, at trying to improve the 76ers’ chances of winning an NBA championship. Philadelphia is still looking to remain afloat in a tight Eastern Conference with Joel Embiid out indefinitely due to a torn meniscus. In the end, the 76ers traded for Indiana Pacers for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who has scored at least 20 points in each of his four games with Philadelphia so far.
76ers trade offer to the Suns for Kevin Durant
The 76ers will undoubtedly want to keep Tyrese Maxey off the table in any trade for Kevin Durant. But given that Durant is still under contract for the next three seasons, the Suns have leverage in trade discussions for the 14-time All-Star and they could have easily pulled out of trade talks. With that, Philadelphia has no choice but to include Maxey if they really wanted to pair Durant alongside Joel Embiid. Here is what a Durant-to-76ers trade would look like.
