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Philadelphia 76ers 'Interested' in Trading No. 3 Pick in NBA Draft: Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Dible | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 5:31 PM ET

The lottery balls bounced the Philadelphia 76ers' way in May, which will afford the franchise maximum flexibility to improve its roster during next week's NBA draft.

Although nothing is set in stone, the most likely outcome of pick Nos. 1 and 2 is that the Dallas Mavericks land Duke forward Cooper Flagg in the top spot and the San Antonio Spurs select Rutgers guard Dylan Harper right behind him.

The less certain portion of one of the most loaded drafts in recent memory will begin with Philadelphia at No. 3.

Rutgers wing Airious "Ace" Bailey, Harper's former teammate, has been mentioned by draft experts as among the likeliest candidates to come off the board in that spot. However, earlier this week Bailey cancelled a meeting with the 76ers in his most recent and puzzling pre-draft avoidance of an NBA franchise potentially interested in selecting him inside of the top 10.

"Bailey, the No. 3 prospect on ESPN's big board, was slated to fly to Philadelphia on Friday for dinner with the team's front office and a private workout but elected to cancel Wednesday, sources told ESPN," Jonathan Givony and Shams Charania reported on June 18.

"Bailey's predraft strategy has perplexed NBA teams over the past month, as he is currently the only U.S.-based prospect yet to visit any clubs," Givony and Charania continued. "He has declined invitations from multiple teams in his draft range, which is considered to be anywhere from No. 3 to No. 8."

Evan Sidery of Forbes reported via X on Friday that the 76ers are "interested" in moving off the No. 3 pick, citing Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers are interested in trading back from No. 3 overall in the right deal, per @PompeyOnSixers (https://t.co/4YbEoRw2wx).

If Philadelphia doesn’t select Ace Bailey, they could move back into the 6-8 range to acquire more assets. pic.twitter.com/hyNvHrSpwL
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 20, 2025

"The Sixers are interested in trading back from No. 3 overall in the right deal, per @PompeyOnSixers," Sidery wrote . "If Philadelphia doesn’t select Ace Bailey, they could move back into the 6-8 range to acquire more assets."

Any such trade of an asset like the No. 3 pick in a draft this good could potentially include Paul George and/or be utilized by the 76ers to try and replace him with a new star to play alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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