Griffin: “Philly is very much looking to move up” in the draft

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

With Head Coach Brett Brown in the driver's seat as the interim general manager of the Sixers and a lot of interest towards Spurs SF Kawhi Leonard, the notion of the Philadelphia 76ers trading up from No. 10 never crossed many people's minds.

According to former Cavs GM David Griffin, who was on the Sirius XM NBA Show Friday night, the Sixers are interested in trading up into the top 5 of next week's draft.

Interesting nugget in our @SiriusXMNBA NBA Draft special per David Griffin.

“Philly is very much looking to move up to get somebody they think will go in the top 5.”

— Tom Byrne (@1TomByrne) June 15, 2018

The haul to trade up is unclear and the possible trading partner is also unclear, but this is very interesting considering how adamant Brett Brown was to acquiring a top-level free agent just a few months ago. Now, this could still be the plan, as a LeBron James may be still interested in coming to Philadelphia no matter what, but a package of picks might be a good look for a team looking to move down.

Last year before the draft, the Sixers were supposed to be picking with the No. 3 selection, but about a week or two before the draft commenced, the Sixers traded up for No. 1, thus immediately scheduling a workout with Markelle Fultz, who they ended up picking anyway.

Now, if the Sixers move up to the Top 5, there are a few players they might be interested in getting, maybe even a Luka Doncic-type player, who would currently fall to the Sacramento Kings if the Suns take DeAndre Ayton. The Kings would be an interesting trade partner for the Sixers, who could offer up picks No. 10 and 26 as well as all four second-round picks, which are pretty much useless for the Sixers anyway, especially if they end up being draft-and-stash picks.

Luka Doncic would be a steal if the Sixers are looking to go that route. He's a stud shooting guard who some consider to be a once-in-a-lifetime player. If the Sixers do end up trading up just using this season's draft picks, with the potential of signing a major free agent to go along with Doncic, the Sixers will be a very good match for the Boston Celtics next season.

If you thought the Kawhi Leonard rumors were crazy, this may just take the cake.