The Philadelphia 76ers hold the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and they have a handful of routes they can go down in order to build a roster that can challenge the Indiana Pacers for the Eastern Conference crown in the 2025-26 season.

The Sixers are in a peculiar position. President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and his staff are committed to building with the Big 3 of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey leading the way. However, this roster needs some youth. Embiid is getting older and there is still the question mark of how he will look when the 2025-26 season rolls around when considering he is recovering from yet another knee surgery.

With that being said, here are the routes the Sixers can go in for the draft:

Make a selection at No. 3 and call it a day

There are plenty of players worthy of this selection at No. 3 for Philadelphia. The Sixers can look at guys like Rutgers star Ace Bailey or Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe as the top options, while Duke’s duo of Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach makes sense for this group. Texas’ Tre Johnson can make a case for being selected as well. Either way, the Sixers will be adding a young piece at the top of the draft with star potential as every player mentioned has skills that will translate to the next level. At this point–a huge emphasis on at this point–it appears Edgecombe will be the pick for Philadelphia if it stays at No. 3.

With that being said, all of those players have their flaws. One has to wonder if the Sixers will have time to develop those young pieces while also having their eyes on competing for a championship while the window is still open. Championship windows are only open for so long in the NBA and Philadelphia’s is being held open by duct tape at the moment. The idea of developing a young player while also competing for a title doesn’t go hand in hand–although the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently showing it is entirely possible to do both.

Trading down and acquiring a win-now player

This seems like the most logical choice for the Sixers. A team like the New Orleans Pelicans would be an ideal trade partner as they possess some players who would be more helpful on teams looking to win a championship rather than a rebuilding one like New Orleans at the moment. Herb Jones immediately comes to mind. He only played 20 games in the 2024-25 season as he had a bit of a setback, but his 2023-24 production was marvelous and fits exactly what the Sixers are looking for in terms of somebody who does the little things and helps a team win in the big moments.

Jones shot 41.8% from deep in 2023-24 while finishing fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and being named First Team All-Defense. A swap for the No. 3 and No. 7 picks, Jones heading to Philadelphia, and Kelly Oubre Jr. heading to the Pelicans would be helpful in both the short and long term.

Bridging the roster to the future

Morey has been on record saying he and the Sixers expect Embiid to return to the floor and look like his dominant self. However, while Embiid has proven resilient and has been one of the best players in the league in recent years–he did win MVP in 2023, after all–it’s fair to question that statement by Morey. He has had two surgeries on that left knee in a span of 14 months. He is human, at the end of the day, and one has to wonder just how much he has left in the tank.

Therefore, Morey and the front office could begin looking ahead to the future. They could trade down, with a team like the Washington Wizards, for example, and offer up No. 3 for picks No. 6 and 18. This would bring in more young pieces to the roster and begin looking ahead to the next era of Sixers basketball. This would be only if the front office is having second thoughts on Embiid, which it looks like they don’t, but it’s still something to think about.