The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off a trade for Nik Stauskas with the Sacramento Kings that included Carl Landry and Jason Thompson and moving forward the Sixers could consider a trade down the line with Joel Embiid or Nerlens Noel after general manager Sam Hinkie took Jahlil Okafor in the NBA draft.
The Sixers made a deal with the Kings and upgraded their position in some drafts with the move and they also acquired veteran players they could trade at some point. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the trade and it was described as a "salary dump" deal by the Kings to try and bring in some free agents. The 76ers acquired Stauskas and Zach Lowe of Grantland reported that they also got a protected first round pick and will "swap rights" "in the 1st round of two other drafts."
The Kings reportedly are trying to bring in free agents and they offered Wesley Matthews a deal and also could be interested in Rajon Rondo. Pro Basketball Talk gave the trade high marks for the Sixers and the website writes that the team previously was interested in taking Stauskas the year he was drafted. The team had to take on salary to get the Kings to give in Stauskas, but overall it's a solid deal for Philly. The Sixers have enough cap space to absorb the contracts without much of an issue and they also get Stauskas out of it.
The Sixers may have other moves to make down the line, as Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times writes that Okafor, Embiid and Noel give the team depth up front. Moore reports that the team plans on doing " a lot experimenting" with the trio and the players could rotate fro forward to center. Okafor was taken number three overall after the Lakers took D'Angelo Russell and the Sixers could consider a trade of one of the players down the line if things don't work out with all the bigs.
Embiid could be out with an injury after missing all of last season and he currently is not on the Summer League roster. Noel had a strong season after missing his rookie year with an injury and depending on what happens with Embiid likely will dictate how the Sixers handle the rotation. Some scouts saw Okafor as the best player in the draft and he could end up a consistent start for the Sixers.
Stauskas averaged just four points and one rebound per game this season while appearing in 73 games and perhaps a change of scenery could do him some good. The Kings made this move to clear cap space and in the end it could be a great deal for the Sixers, as they get a former first round pick and some decent draft selections. The Sixers are usually blasted for making moves, but this took advantage of the Sacramento situation and the Kings appear poised to add a free notable agent this offseason.
