The Philadelphia 76ers pursued a trade for Kyle Lowry at the deadline, but were unable to get a deal done with the Toronto Raptors. After the 76ers were eliminated in the second round in seven games, it is difficult to conceive of Lowry not giving the team the edge they needed to advance.

"There is a consensus around the league that [Daryl] Morey resisted because he’s angling for an even greater star," writes Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer over Philadelphia's decision not to trade for Lowry.

O'Connor mentions Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal as stars the 76ers are interested in trying to trade for, along with lesser stars such as CJ McCollum and Zach LaVine.

Any major trade the 76ers assemble almost certainly would be built around Ben Simmons, who likely had his trade value drop during the playoffs.

"Trading [Joel] Embiid... is a nonstarter," writes O'Connor.