1 overreaction trade the 76ers have to target amid a chaotic start to the season

During the first week and change of the 2025-26 NBA season, one of the biggest surprises was playing the Philadelphia 76ers.

Riding a backcourt of Paul George and Jared McCain and Joel Embiid still working at full strength, the 76ers have won five of their first seven games, going 5-3 after losing a close one to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game with Adam Bonne starting at center.

Was it always perfect? No, the 76ers have looked incredible at times, but in some cases their own old ISO serious offense hit heads with the faster, happy-go-lucky style Nick Nourse wanted to run with the three-headed monster Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes running the show. Embiid, to his credit, tried to rehab his knee on NBA League Pass, kneeling at times but still playing solid defense while the team’s forwards did the dirty work of rebounding in the paint, but his slow, methodical style of basketball looked more like an emergency brake on the highway than a methodical change of pace.

Is Embiid simply unable to fit into this new offensive identity? No, it’s putting the cart before the horse, as he’s not fully healthy and remains an effective three-point shooter on a team that has multiple quality drivers who need outside spacing, but he’ll have to adjust to that mentality, especially late in games when he’s often benched due to minutes restrictions.

No, if the 76ers want to make a big splash next spring and prove they can be the kind of team that breaks through their glass ceiling and reaches the Eastern Conference Finals, or even the NBA Finals, the position they need to upgrade is next to Embiid, where they’ve relied solely on minimum-contract players and two-way guys to work the forward position. Even with PG back, the 76ers would be willing to invest in a long-term answer at the four spot who can play with or without Embiid and produce magic all over the court along with three flamethrower guards.

Tari Eason could be the long-term answer in Philly

To say it seems like the 76ers have been looking for a player like Tarry Eason ever since they drafted Joel Embiid would be an understatement.

A long, wiry power forward out of LSU who can play in the big or small lineup, shoot threes at a slightly above-average NBA clip, and, most importantly, collect rebounds and dunks around the basket, Eason once seemed like the perfect fit for the future of the Houston Rockets, but unfortunately, 2025 hasn’t shaken hope so far.

After really going through a stretch at the end of the 2024-25 season, including a backup role for the Rockets in the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors, Houston made a small trade for Kevin Durant to be their long-term third frontcourt player alongside Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Shengun, leaving a smaller role for the future Eason. While he’s still played fairly often for Houston of late, averaging 24.7 minutes per game, it’s mostly been as a sixth man, with Josh Okogie starting alongside his former Phoenix Suns teammate more often than not.

Can Eason still coexist with KD and company in the future? Of course, but clearly, Houston does not believe that such a destiny is written in stone; otherwise, they would at least lock him up on a rookie contract extension before the regular season starts.

Now, Eason will become a restricted free agent next summer, allowed to negotiate with other teams as he sees fit in hopes of landing a long-term deal with Houston or another club. In the old NBA of yesteryear, keeping Eason would have been as simple as agreeing to a number. But now, with the aprons in place, every dollar that goes his way could affect future money for a player like Amen Thompson, who has a much brighter future with the team.

The Rockets, like the Thunder, may soon fall victim to the numbers game and, as a result, may be willing to move on from Eason for the future assets and immediate short-term help that Philadelphia can offer.

The 76ers should cash in on a strong start in 2025

For all his trade-happy pedigree in Houston, Daryl Morey was surprisingly booked in Philly, only four stores where first-round picks left the City of Brotherly Love, first for Danny Green, then for DeAnthony Melton, and finally for James Harden, plus a first-round pick to the Washington Wizards that would go along with Reggie Jackson for Jared Butler and four second-round picks.

Can Eason mark the fifth? In a one-for-one trade, it’s hard to see, as both teams face caps, but according to Spotrak, there’s a path where the 76ers could take Eason to their NTMLE, and the Rockets could work out a minimum contract like Justin Edwards via waivers to go with whatever draft capital they require, possibly the first pick of the 2020s, the first pick of the 2020s. if the deal happens after December 15th.

Would the Rockets make that trade? In a vacuum, no, as a team with title aspirations won’t be saying goodbye to their sixth man and will likely require Philly to stretch things out, even trying to convince Quentin Grimes to waive his trade veto to address an urgent position in Houston. But if another trade opportunity presents itself and the Rockets want to make a deal, they could seek additional draft capital in Philadelphia, trading a player at a talent-overloaded position to seek help at guard, with the 76ers getting a player who fits Maxey and Edgecomb perfectly in the long run as part of the deal.