Philadelphia 76ers: Cross Eric Gordon off Daryl Morey’s trade wish list

Man, you really have to feel for Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon.

Since landing in Houston on a four-year, $53 million contract – a contract many at the time questioned Daryl Morey for signing – Gordon has transformed his public perception from being an oft-injured tweener into one of the league’s premier change of pace bench scorers.

Though the Rockets haven’t been particularly good since losing James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal largely centered around future first-round picks, Gordon’s 17.8 points per game is his best mark since the 2017-18 season, and teams around the league were taking notice.

Could the 32-year-old wing, roughly six months removed from signing a four-year, $75.6 million extension, be on the move to a team that better lines up with his timeline? And if so, how much would said team be willing to give up to bolster their offensive firepower in the lead-up to the playoffs?

Well, unfortunately, the Sixers, and, really, every other team in the NBA will likely have to wait until the offseason to reengage the Rockets involving a trade for Gordon, as the Indiana product just suffered a moderate groin strain that should keep him out until well after the trade deadline.

Cross Eric Gordon’s name off of the Philadelphia 76ers’ trade wish list.

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For all of the love the Philadelphia 76ers’ bench has been getting since returning from the All-Star game, with Matisse Thybulle, Dwight Howard, and Shake Milton all turning in double-digit performances, the team’s inability to get even a third of their points on average from reserves will only get exaggerated by the loss of Joel Embiid.

Gone are the days of inserting players like Howard and Tony Bradley into games as a way to breakup the monotony of playing the best center in basketball for 32.6 minutes a night, and in its place comes the nightmarish scenario of having to replace 30 points a night from a pair of players who are currently averaging a little more than 11 combined.

Could the Sixers seek out a replacement big to help hold them over for the next 7-10 games, depending on how long Embiid is out? Most definitely, P.J. Tucker‘s time with the Houston Rockets is over and his contract could seamlessly slot into the Sixers’ trade exception, according to front office wizard Bobby Marks. Or how about giving the G-League’s most dominant player, “BBall” Paul Reed, a shot at putting his two-way contract to good use as a stretch big off the bench in Doc Rivers’ rotation? Reuniting him with his former Blue Coats buddies Isaiah Joe and Rayjon Tucker

But do you know one player who all but certainly won’t end up getting traded to South Philly before March comes to an end? That would be Tucker’s current/former teammate Eric Gordon.

Ever since the Rockets went on a double-digit losing streak in the lead up to, and immediate aftermath of the All-Star break, Eric Gordon’s name became a fixture of the hypothetical trade market. Though Gordon isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, as he’s an inefficient 3 point shooter and lacks the size some teams craze from a heavy-minutes two guard, he’s still averaged 16.6 points per game over the last 275 regular season contests with the Rockets and was in the middle of his best season since 2017-18 in the lead up to the All-Star break.

But since then? Well, things haven’t been going too well for Gordon due to no real fault of his own.

It all started on March 11th, where Gordon pulled up bad under the basket and grabbed at his upper leg in pain 25 minutes into the contest. He was later diagnosed with a moderate groin strain and is expected to miss between 4-6 weeks to recover.

While this absence will all but surely limit Gordon’s market and trade value heading into the March 26th deadline, as he won’t be ready to return until April 8th at the earliest and April 22nd at the lastest – barring a setback – his potential of returning to the Rockets later this season to further bolster his stock heading into the summer took a dive thanks to the emergence of Kevin Porter Jr. as a legitimate contributor at the two.

Had the Rockets remained a bad, bad team not worthy of even a casual watch on League Pass, there’s a chance Gordon could have returned in a featured role alongside a young core – plus John Wall – but now, with Porter making plays like this look easy, that’s becoming harder and harder to imagine with each passing game.

Now, just to play Devil’s advocate, could the Sixers swoop in and sign Gordon? Most definitely. They have the corresponding contracts to get a deal done, the young players the Rockets covet, and a pre-existing relationship between the player and their GM. But why would the Sixers flip Danny Green, Terrance Furgeson, and potentially even their most moveable trade piece, Tyrese Maxey, for a package centered around Gordon when he won’t be able to go until midway through April? Even if he is a clear upgrade over Green and would give Philly a fifth starter who can score in double-digits with ease, the Sixers couldn’t weather that long of an absence even when Embiid was healthy.

But now, in an Embiid-less world for the next 7-10 games? Trading for Gordon would be one of the weirdest trades in NBA history.

No, if the Sixers want to ease their itchy trigger fingers and execute a deal well before the deadline to help mask the burden of Embiid’s absence, they’d be wise to do so on a player who *spoiler alert* can actually play while “The Process” is on the mend.

That player could be Larry Nance Jr., or Nemanja Bjelica, or even LaMarcus Aldridge. If Morey wants to pick apart the carcass of his former team as they inch towards a full-on rebuild, they could always pull off a “blockbuster lite” deal to acquire Victor Oladipo and potentially even package in Tucker to bolster their reserve frontcourt too.

To paraphrase The Petshop Boys and/or that Allstate commercial, there’s a world of opportunities for the Philadelphia 76ers to bolster their roster if they know when to take them. They have the players, they have the picks, all they really need to do is find a viable trade partner to deliver onto the City of Brotherly Love a mid-season savior to help weather Joel Embiid’s absence in route to a hopefully long and fruitful playoff berth. In a bubble, Eric Gordon fits that bill, but if he won’t be available until mid-April, the idea of pulling a long-term play in a win-now season just isn’t a smart idea.