NBA Mock Trade: 76ers Trade Back at NBA Draft

The 2025 NBA Draft is less than a month away, and not much is known about the picks following No. 1 and 2. 

Dallas seems keen on taking Duke forward Cooper Flagg, as they should given his dominance. And the Spurs are reportedly fine in taking the No. 2-ranked prospect per most in Rutgers guard Dylan Harper.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ third selection is where the draft seems to begin, with the field opening up somewhat via plenty of talents like Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe and more.

While most categorize Bailey as the outright third-best prospect in the class, he may not be as NBA-ready as the Sixers would like. With that being the case, the team could look to move back, grab assets and a player more suited to success next season.

Below, we’ll look at a mock trade that offers just that:

Philadelphia 76ers get: Pick No. 8, Cam Johnson

Brooklyn Nets get: Pick No. 3, Kelly Oubre, Andre Drummond

In this deal, the Brooklyn Nets surge forward in the draft to land a top-three pick, offloading longtime potential tradee Cam Johnson in the process.

The Nets were one of the few teams that simply couldn’t afford to slip at the lottery, and they did just that. Here they off-load a player that likely isn’t in the longterm vision to move up five spots and nab a potential star, be it Bailey, Edgecombe or another.

The Sixers offload two current players in Oubre and Drummond, and move back five spots to No. 8. While Oubre has been a decent part of the team’s core, there’s little question Johnson is a massive upgrade, and the veteran center could likely be replaced in one way or another.

Philadelphia would also have new options at No. 8. While the Bailey’s and Edgecombe’s wouldn’t be there, they could find more surefire rookie production players like Duke sharpshooter Kon Knueppel, Blue Devils 7-footer Khaman Maluach, Texas guard Tre Johnson and plenty more.

While selecting a top prospect is tantalizing, it could be in Philadelphia’s best interest to move back and add win-now assets, too. Given how last season went, a slight roster re-shuffling may not be the worst idea.