By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Bryan Colangelo and the Philadelphia 76ers biggest move at the NBA Trade Deadline ended up being a widely panned trade that saw the team send Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks, but the team reportedly did attempt to make an even more significant deal at the deadline.
According to Kyle Neubeck of Liberty Ballers, the Sixers did put together a fairly large package in an attempt to land Paul George from the Indiana Pacers:
Multiple sources told Liberty Ballers the Sixers offered Indiana their choice of one of the Sixers’ young bigs, Robert Covington, and at least two first round picks for his services.
In terms of trading players, this would have been a pretty incredible deal for Colangelo. Robert Covington is a very good defensive piece that is averaging 12 points and six rebounds this season, but certainly you could afford to lose him in a trade of this magnitude. Okafor's value around the league seemed to be non-existent around the deadline, while Noel was eventually traded for what will amount to Justin Anderson and two second round picks. Many believe that Colangelo bungled that trade, but it does give you the feeling that perhaps there wasn't as much of a market for Noel as some within the organization had hoped for.
The draft picks are where this potential deal becomes harder to evaluate.
Neubeck noted that the Sixers preferred to move picks that weren't there own, which is an interesting strategy. The Los Angeles Lakers' pick that the team owns is again unlikely to convey this year, but it becomes unprotected next year. The Sacramento Kings' pick that they own in 2019 is completely unprotected, which, when you consider that the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins last month and are considered one of the most inept organizations in sports, could be a top five pick as well.
Neubeck noted that the reasoning for wanting to hold onto their own picks was to 'protect against George leaving.' This could mean that the team wanted to keep their own picks in the present, which makes sense considering they are guaranteed to have them at an exact date and could use them both to build around George and to build a team that wouldn't collapse if George left after the 2018-19 season, when he's eligible to become a free-agent.
At the same time, if the team continues to build the next few years — and we assume the health of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric — the Kings' 2019 pick may be the most valuable pick that the team owns. Trading that would seem to be counterproductive if it wasn't necessary. Neubeck did note that the Sixers' picks after this year weren't 'untouchable.'
In the end, if the Sixers want to obtain George, they will have to sweeten their offer. The teams wealth of draft picks are of interest to team's around the league, but to complete a deal of this magnitude, they may have to weigh putting Saric into the package, if not Simmons.
