Atlanta Hawks

Philly nearly ended 'The Process' with ludicrous trade proposal

Published Feb. 23, 2016 5:37 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Philadelphia 76ers have long been obsessed with preserving all their future assets and long-term flexibility with the hope of landing a franchise-altering prodigy. That means hoarding draft picks, ignoring free agency and being as bad as possible.

They've won 45 games over the past three years combined (for the sake of comparison, the Golden State Warriors have 50 wins this season) and all that losing has yet to provide a clear path to championship contention.

"The Process" might not be the smartest route after all. But a recent trade proposal from Philly to the Atlanta Hawks suggests that the Sixers are ready to accelerate their journey (via The Philadelphia Inquirer):

The 76ers were prepared to make major changes to their roster to get a coveted point guard at Thursday's NBA trade deadline. The team offered packages that included some combination of shooting guard Nik Stauskas, point guard Ish Smith, a player with an expiring guaranteed contract and a 2016 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for point guard Dennis Schroder, according to multiple league sources.

Philly needs a point guard, but why would they surrender assets for the right to pay one who may or may not be any good a boat load of money over the next half decade? Furthermore, why did the Hawks say no to this? Dennis Schröder is averaging 11.2 points and 4.7 assists per game, but he isn't a great 3-point shooter and his shot selection remains iffy.

Yes, Atlanta outscores opponents by 10.2 points per 100 possessions with the 22-year-old backup point guard on the court, but much of this time is against secondary units. Is he that much better than Ish Smith for the rest of this season, on a team that has no chance of winning a championship?

Beyond that, having an extra first-round pick (even if it belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder) would give the Hawks another tradable asset to either help upgrade their roster around an aging core or start to rebuild. And even though Nik Stauskas has yet to rationalize his spot on an NBA roster, the Hawks are known for turning flawed wings into extremely useful pieces (see: Carroll, DeMarre and Bazemore, Kent). He's 22 and struggled on the Sacramento Kings and 76ers -- let's see what he can do in a real environment.

All in all, Philly's proposal is a strange one that signals a dramatic shift in front-office philosophy. The 76ers are lucky Atlanta turned it down.