The Philadelphia 76ers will have plenty of suitors as they head into the 2025 NBA draft. As they hold the No. 3 pick, there will be plenty of teams who will make offers to try and take that pick off their hands.

For example, the Washington Wizards are a rebuilding team that could use a top pick as they move forward. The Sixers aren’t exactly rebuilding. Yes, they finished a miserable 24-58 in the 2024-25 season, but that can be attributed to injuries that decimated the roster and Philadelphia will be relying on Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey to lead them to success in the future more than whoever is selected in this draft.

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Therefore, one has to wonder what a trade would look like with a team like the Wizards. Again, this is just an idea and not any type of reporting:

Mock trade projection

Sixers get: No. 6 pick

Wizards get: No. 3 pick

Why the Sixers do this

A big reason why the Sixers make this trade is the financial implications. Philadelphia still needs to create enough cap space to bring back Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency and it is cheaper to pay the salaries of the No. 6 pick than to pay the No. 3 pick–roughly a $3 million difference. With that in mind, making a trade like this one makes sense from a free agency standpoint just to free up even a little bit of cap space is important at this point in time. Swapping picks may not move the needle for some, but the Sixers need to find a way to bring back both Grimes and Yabusele in an effort to build depth for the 2025-26 season

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Then, with the pick, the Sixers can still add two young pieces to a roster in need of some youth. Duke’s Kon Knueppel immediately comes to mind at No. 6. He is a sharpshooter who brings an edge to the floor on both ends while also being an underrated playmaker from the perimeter. He has the moxie to produce right away and be involved in coach Nick Nurse’s rotation.

Why the Wizards do this

The Wizards could use a top pick. In an effort to move forward with their rebuild, they need a centerpiece and they aren’t going to find one at No. 6. They can do so at No. 3 if they like Rutgers star Ace Bailey enough. Even if they don’t land Bailey, then a guy like VJ Edgecombe makes a lot of sense next to the likes of Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr to push things forward.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: What would a potential draft trade with Wizards look like for Sixers?