The Philadelphia 76ers are in better shape than they have been for the past two decades.
This season, the roster has star power, depth, maturity, and youth. So it’s fair to say they are title contenders.
However, any die-hard Sixers fan will tell you that this definitely hasn’t been the case throughout Sixers history. Moreover, any NBA follower will agree.
They’ve seen the short end of the stick, from being first-round exits to not qualifying for the playoffs at all. Although a noteworthy amount of the misfortune falls on player health, a significant amount of the blame falls on the front office.
The franchise’s history includes a plethora of poorly thought-out deals, untimely offseason decisions, and unbalanced trades. However, five distinct front office decisions stand out in retrospect. These decisions will forever stain Philadelphia’s franchise.
Starting light, one of the worst trades in franchise history.
5. Sending Over a Promising Point Guard for a Project
During draft night in 2013, the Sixers looked at their young homegrown point guard, Jrue Holiday. He was fresh off an All-Star breakout season, ready to contribute seriously to the team.
They decided that he was on the trade block.
With such a talented, capable player up for grabs, one would think the Sixers would only accept something of the same caliber, right? Wrong.
Sam Hinkie was obsessed with youth and reinvention. Therefore, he traded Holiday for the rights to the sixth draft pick. With this pick, they selected Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel. Noel was seen as the consensus first pick before an ACL tear cut his college season short. He was injury-prone and too defensively oriented, which ultimately dropped his draft stock that night.
Holiday averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists the previous season, definitively proving that he should be a staple for the franchise, not to mention that he was easily a fan favorite. However, the Sixers believed in Noel.
They were convinced that they could turn him into an elite big to play alongside Joel Embiid when he was fully healthy. That vision never came to fruition, as they traded him in 2017.
Everything the Sixers ignored about him contributed to his decline. He couldn’t stay healthy long enough, and his offensive game never developed, making him basically unplayable in any offensive setting.
Jrue Holiday went on to win two NBA championships as Philadelphia struggled to create a competitive roster. They lacked someone just like him.
The trade wasn’t completely abhorrent in real time, but looking back, there’s no justification for it.
4. Signing Paul George to a Max Deal
The 2024 offseason was full of notable free agents. Names like LeBron James, Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, and James Harden all floated around. This left everyone wondering where they would land.
George was coming directly off a playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He expected the Los Angeles Clippers to pay him a significant amount considering his performance throughout the season. Unfortunately for him, the Clippers refused to give him exactly what he was asking for.
George was aging, and seeing as he was already 34 and not getting any better, it wouldn’t be ideal for the Clippers to sign him to a four-year max contract with a no-trade clause.
Seeking both roster and financial security, George left and signed with the only team that would give him what he wanted: Philadelphia. On July 6th, 2024, the Sixers signed Paul George to a four-year, $212 million contract.
The Sixers were desperate for star power and someone who could contribute on both ends of the floor down the stretch, but honestly, it was a massive overpay.
George’s contract ran through age 38, virtually useless to the team then, since he was already declining. Regardless of how he performed, the Sixers had already guaranteed the money. In retrospect, George contributed moderately to the series against the Boston Celtics in the 2025-26 playoffs. However, he really did just about nothing during his time.
Signing a 34-year-old to a four-year deal is never smart. As smooth and satisfying as Paul George’s game is to watch, the best thing he did for Philly was serve as a trade asset to acquire Jaylen Brown.
3. Letting Jimmy Butler Go for Tobias Harris
Jimmy Butler made sure Philadelphia knew about this blunder at every opportunity.
In November 2018, the Sixers acquired Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2022 second-round draft pick. Later that season, the Sixers also acquired Tobias Harris from the Clippers in exchange for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, and 2 first-round picks in 2020 and 2021.
The roster was shaping up to be competitive with these new acquisitions. However, after Kawhi Leonard’s miracle shot sent them home, the front office had a lot of planning to do around their expenses.
Elton Brand, Brett Brown, and Josh Harris looked at how much they were spending on all their players.
Ultimately, they came down to choosing between walking away from Tobias Harris or Jimmy Butler. Philadelphia had to pay Embiid and Simmons, but there was no way they were paying both Harris and Butler.
Despite Butler’s impact outweighing Harris’ significantly, they decided to prioritize Harris’ youth and ability to score off the ball. They envisioned Harris as the type of player Embiid needed around him, since Jimmy was much more impactful on the ball.
Harris was then signed to a five-year, $180 million deal. Over time, it became clear that Jimmy Butler was the better player. After his departure, he made two finals appearances in 2020 and 2023. In the 2022 NBA playoffs, the Heat eliminated the Sixers in six games on May 12th. After walking off the court, Butler yelled loud enough for the cameras to hear.
“Tobias Harris over me?!”
Butler recorded 32 points, eight rebounds, and four assists on 13-for-29 shooting and a +16. Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-for-13 shooting, with a -17. It’s clear to see who the Sixers should have kept.
2. Trading Mikal Bridges on Draft Night
Mikal Bridges’ basketball career began in Pennsylvania.
He attended Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, until 2014. After high school, he attended Villanova University from 2014 to 2018, where he won a national championship alongside Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo.
When he declared for the 2018 NBA Draft and the Sixers had the 10th pick, it seemed like fate that Bridges would continue his professional career in Pennsylvania.
His mother, Tyneeha Rivers, worked for the Sixers’ human resources department. She eventually became the Global VP of Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the Sixers’ parent organization. The story was all too perfect, and Bridges was a player who could actually contribute to the rebuild. However, the Sixers did what they often do and made the wrong long-term decision.
Less than an hour after Philadelphia drafted him, the Sixers traded Bridges to the Phoenix Suns for the rights to Zhaire Smith and a future first-round pick.
In Zhaire’s time in Philadelphia, he averaged 3.7 points, 1.2 rebounds, and one assist across two seasons. By contrast, Bridges averaged 8.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in his rookie year for the Suns, becoming a highly impactful defensive rotation player.
Three years after his draft, Bridges played a pivotal role in the Suns’ NBA Finals run. Although they couldn’t get the job done then, he played an even bigger role on the New York Knicks championship team.
Bridges went on to become even more successful in his NBA career, earning the nickname “The Iron Man” for never missing games. The Sixers were left needing someone who could bring exactly what he could contribute.
1. Trading Up To Draft Markelle Fultz at No. 1
Philly held the third pick in the 2017 NBA draft thanks to a pick-swap agreement with the Sacramento Kings. This specific draft was full of talent throughout the lottery, and even had some hidden gems sitting in the late first round going into the second.
With players like Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, De’Aaron Fox, and Donovan Mitchell coming out of their collegiate careers, it would be hard not to come away with a future superstar with a lottery pick. Unfortunately, with the first pick, the Sixers ultimately chose one of the worst players in the draft retrospectively: Markelle Fultz.
Coming out of college, Fultz was the consensus number one pick in anyone’s mock draft. He was an elite scorer and playmaker with the physical attributes at 6-foot-4 to play alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
In college, he led the PAC-12 and all major-conference freshmen, averaging 23.2 points per game. His free-throw shooting was a bit of a concern, as his percentage floated around 65% during his college career, but that was the least of the front office’s worries.
He shot a notable 41.3% from three on five attempts per game, which told the Sixers all that they needed to know about his shooting ability. Despite this seemingly perfect formula for an NBA superstar, Fultz never became what he was supposed to be.
He averaged 7.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.1 rebounds throughout 14 games in his rookie year, recording a triple-double on April 11th, 2018. However, injuries cut him down, as he dealt with right shoulder soreness and a scapular muscle imbalance.
Although Philadelphia reported no structural damage, it was clear Markelle couldn’t even get his arms up to shoot. After some time, he was diagnosed with Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, a nerve condition around his lower neck and upper chest. He slowly became incapable of shooting, sporting one of the most unaesthetically pleasing jump shots seen in NBA history.
The Sixers traded Fultz to the Orlando Magic at the 2019 trade deadline for Jonathon Simmons and two draft picks. Fultz’ peers became far more successful in their careers than he did, especially Jayson Tatum.
Tatum was drafted No. 3, the exact pick that the Sixers had before trading up, as he was projected to fall right into their hands, ready to contribute.
Although the pick might not be entirely the front office’s fault, since Fultz dealt with career-altering injuries, it seemed as though only the Sixers’ scouts could reach into a sea of diamonds and pull out a rock.
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