76ers’ biggest 2026 NBA trade deadline mistake

Story by

Story by
76ers’ biggest 2026 NBA trade deadline mistake

Matty Breisch, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Feb 11, 2026 ·

6 min read

About Our Ads

76ers' biggest 2026 NBA trade deadline mistake appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

At the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers didn't do anything to improve their team.

Okay, in the opinion of Daryl Morey, Philadelphia is in a better spot than the day before, as he was able to sell high on Jared McCain to the reigning and defending NBA Champions and was then able to promote Dominick Barlow to a standard NBA contract to help fill his place on the roster, but did fans really buy that? The 76ers already had a roster spot available before the trade deadline closed, and Morey was also able to trade Eric Gordon and a second-round pick to open up another one for good measure.

Considering Joel Embiid explicitly asked for the 76ers to not only keep their team together but also add extra firepower heading into the playoffs, are the 76ers really better off playing Kyle Lowry real minutes, as they did against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a Quentin Grimes illness, and having Dalen Terry on a two-way contract than when they had a Rookie of the Year finalist on the bench who could shoot the heck out of a 3-pointer?

While opinions on that question will certainly vary, it's hard to imagine too many fans will agree with how Morey addressed the 76ers' needs at the deadline.

But how should the 76ers have handled the trade deadline? Is there a position they should have targeted? A move they shouldn't have made? Or one sitting right there that Morey missed? Well, while it's impossible to know what was available at the deadline and for what kind of return they would have commanded, the 76ers decided to go light at both guard positions when they really should have added another quality player on the wings like Saddiq Bey from the New Orleans Pelicans , who checked many of the team's boxes heading into the playoffs.

The 76ers should have traded for Saddiq Bey before the trade deadline

On paper, it's hard to imagine a player that 76ers fans would have liked to acquire more than Saddiq Bey.

Bey is a product of Villanova, where he played on a pair of Big East Champions from 2018-20, a double-digit scorer in each of his first seven NBA seasons, and the kind of 6-foot-8 combo forward who can play up or down rosters alongside players like Kelly Oubre , Paul George , and Barlow.

Drafted into the association by the Detroit Pistons with the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft , two spots before Tyrese Maxey went off the board to Philadelphia, Bey has had a remarkably similar career after a pair of seasons on the Main Line. Routinely cast as a fifth/sixth man, Bey has never averaged less than 11.6 points per game over a full season, with his career total sitting at 14.4 points per game to go with 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and .9 steals.

After missing all of the previous season recovering from an ACL tear, Bey silenced any doubts about what kind of player he could be for New Orleans over his first 48 games of action, averaging a career-high 16.6 points to go with 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and .9 steals over just 30.4 minutes of action per game. Bey has moved well on the court playing alongside a variety of other frontcourt players like Derik Queen and Zion Williamson , and has really picked things up in 2026, recording at least 30 points on three occasions, including a season-high 36 against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 23rd.

Which other teams did Bey drop 30 on? Well, that would be the Minnesota Timberwolves and the 76ers, who saw the local college product score 34 on them right before the trade deadline.

When the 76ers welcomed the Pels to town, Bey seemingly had something to prove every time he had the ball in his hands, at one point yelling something to Philadelphia's bench after a particularly impressive shot.

What did he say? Trade for me? We may never know, but it's not hard to see how Bey would fit on the 76ers.

On the court, Bey could be the 76ers' fifth starter for the remainder of the season regardless of whether or not PG is available to play. He could serve as a small forward next Barlow in the short term, play power forward next to George in the long-term but either way, would fill a very clear role: knock down open 3-pointers better than Barlow, Trendon Watford , and Jabari Walker at the four spot, run in for rebounds after missed shots, and occasionally take over a random game when his team needs a spark.

On the books, Bey fits the 76ers even better. Now on his third NBA contract, Bey signed a three-year, $20 million contract with the Washington Wizards in free agency despite his injury in the summer of 2024 and is still under contract next season at just $6.4 million. That's just $1.4 million more than Andre Drummond makes this season and in line with the two-year, $16.3 million deal the 76ers signed Oubre during his last round of free agency.

Considering Bey averages more points per game at a younger age than Oubre, that's the kind of value most teams with three players on max contracts would kill for, especially considering the 76ers had a trade exception from last year's KJ Martin contract he could have slid into without gaving up a sinlge player, even if Drummond likey would have been in the deal anyway for cap purposes.

Had the 76ers traded McCain for Bey, fans wouldn't have been happy but likely would have understood the rationale, taking the team's fourth guard and transforming him into their best power forward with upside for next season too, thanks to his age and his contract. But had the 76ers used the three second-round picks they acquired from the McCain deal – though crucially not the Rockets' 2025 first-round pick – plus the pick they traded alongside Gordon to bring the Villanova back to the greater Delaware Valley? Now that would have been the kind of move Embiid would have been proud of, as it would have allowed the team get better now, get better in the future, and most crucially of all, prove to everyone in the 76ers sphere that this is a team worth investing in, which isn't exactly the impression left by the actual trade deadline results.

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: