Sixers Miss Out on Deal for ‘Enforcer’ Trade Target

Not only did the Philadelphia 76ers need to add depth this summer, but they needed to add a certain type of player. One who took out the trash. One who did the dirty work. One who buzzed around the court refusing to take lip from anyone.

Or, as Joel Embiid put it, the Sixers needed to add an “enforcer.”

PJ Tucker will likely fill that role for the Sixers this season. Even at 37, Tucker should slot into the starting lineup and be tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player. And Tucker should also bring at least some level of outside shooting (42.2% from deep last season), even if it’s just limited to the corners.

Yes, PJ Tucker will fill that void. But another potential Sixers target for this role was Minnesota-turned-Utah’s Patrick Beverley.

Emphasis on the “was.”

That’s because, on August 24, Beverley was traded from the Jazz to the Los Angeles Lakers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

He would have been an ideal option in Philadelphia. He would have brought the grit, tenacity, and shooting needed around Embiid. Alas, it’s just not meant to be.

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Beverley Was Linked to Sixers Earlier This Summer

In July, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer included Beverley among a litany of players expected to be on the move this summer. At the time, Beverley had already exchanged teams, having been included in the Jazz-Timberwolves Rudy Gobert deal.

The Jazz, clearly in a rebuilding phase, had little use for the veteran Beverley. Which likely led the Sixers to sniff around the ten-year player.

“Patrick Beverley also appears to be a strong trade candidate,” wrote Fischer for Bleacher Report, “The former Timberwolves point guard has drawn interest from the Lakers and Heat, sources told B/R. Philadelphia had been mentioned as a potential Beverley suitor, with his past Houston experience and the Sixers’ obvious deep Rockets connections, but it seems unlikely that Beverley would now be Philadelphia-bound after the team acquired De’Anthony Melton on draft night.”

Not only does Beverley have the Harden-Morey-Houston connection, but he also spent time with head coach Doc Rivers in the Clippers organization.

With all those connections, a trade for Beverley almost made too much sense.

However, as si.com’s Justin Grasso noted, the Sixers’ other offseason moves negated any chance Beverley would come to Philadelphia.

“However,” wrote Grasso for si.com, “Philly’s trade for De’Anthony Melton made it more difficult to believe that the Sixers would go out and get a defensive-minded guard to come off the bench.”

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Sixers Face Beverley & Co. Twice This Season

The Sixers, for their part, will have two chances to show they didn’t need Beverley’s services this season.

On December 9, 2022, the Sixers will welcome the Lakers to Philadelphia. A few weeks later, on January 15, 2023 the Sixers will travel out to the newly minted Crypto.com Arena to face the Lakers.

The Lakers will be without young star Talen Horton-Tucker for both games, as he was included in the Beverley trade. Evidently, the price for the Jazz was at least one decent young talent. Thus, it would have been difficult to imagine which young Sixer would have fit that bill for a trade.

Fortunately, the Sixers have improved drastically without sacrificing any young talent this summer.

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