NBA Rumors: Sixers Offensive Solution May Be Waiting In Oklahoma City

KEY POINTS

Gallinari could help improve the Sixers offense
Sixers may not have assets to acquire Italian forward
Thunder likely to ask big return for Gallinari

The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the teams expected to be busy in the coming weeks. The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 6 and the Sixers could use a player or two to boost their playoff push. A position that has hounded them this 2019-20 season is the small forward position. As of this writing, nothing has changed.

However, the Sixers are reportedly looking. The names of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Robert Covington have been mentioned but have not gained ground. Another player recently added to the mix is Danilo Gallinari of the Oklahoma City Thunder of The Ringer. The 31-year-old has been helping the Thunder a lot this season despite the team supposedly in rebuild mode.

Since being traded by the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Paul George trade, the 2008 Italian League MVP has put up new career-high numbers. In 38 games, the 6th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft has been averaging 19.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists for OKC per Basketball-Reference.com. He is identified as one of the reasons why the Thunder are currently in 7th position in the NBA Western Conference with a 26-19 win-loss mark.

The Sixers tote a win-loss card of 29-17 in the NBA Eastern Conference for 6th spot which does not differ from the Thunder campaign. But the point here is that the Thunder are rebuilding while the Sixers are one of the favored teams this 2019-20 season.

Gallinari could be the guy head coach Brett Brown badly needs. However, it remains that there are money matters on the table. The Italian forward carries a $22.6 million contract which the 76ers need to match. Looking at their roster, the only feasible one would be Al Horford ($28 million). But with OKC rebuilding, taking in the 33-year-old and his four-year deal hardly makes sense.

If not Horford, the Sixers could offer Josh Richardson and some other players to make up for the deficit. Seeing how Philly is already plagued by manpower problems, it could create more problems in their player rotation, NBC Sports reported.

It will take a lot for the Sixers to pull off a Gallinari trade. Similar to their pursuit on Covington and Bogdanovic, they may need to broaden their search for another shooter. The free agent market does have some old names who can light it up from outside, economical and ideal for a short-term fix to at least helm them in the NBA playoff aspirations.