76ers could have an under-the-radar trade target hiding on Pacers' roster
The Sixer Sense · Justin Grasso · 2026-08-20T01:06:42+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Going into the 2026-2027 NBA season, the Philadelphia 76ers are certainly set for the time being. After landing LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to add to the starting five, the Sixers are viewed as one of the most dominant starting lineups on paper.
But you can bet that over time, the Sixers will find some weak spots--even if they are small. Every contender searches through the buyout and trade markets to patch up those issues. As the new season approaches, we've been taking a look at one realistic trade target for the Sixers from each NBA team. When it comes to the Indiana Pacers, they'll be tough to deal with outside of the deep rotation guys.
Is there a player worth watching from the Pacers?
The thing with the Pacers is that they don't expect to be back at the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2026-2027. As Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire year, the Pacers were expected to be in a gap year. They expect to be right back in the playoff hunt in 2026. Therefore, Indiana won't want to send any key players the Sixers' way to help sharpen Philly's rotation for next season's playoff run.
Sure, the TJ McConnell reunion on a team with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and Joel Embiid, would send fans into an absolute frenzy, but that's a pipe dream. We have to look deep at the roster. There's an intriguing center there in Jay Huff.
The 28-year-old center, who attended Virginia from 2017 to 2020, entered the NBA in 2021 as an undrafted player. He started his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and worked through their G League system.
Huff has played in games for the Lakers, Washington Wizards, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Pacers. The 2025-2026 season was the first time Huff played in all 82 games. He started 47 of those matchups, seeing the court for 21.0 minutes per game.
He brings size to the table, standing at 7'1". Huff's numbers don't jump off the page, but they are intriguing for a guy who would be a backup, at most. With the Pacers, Huff produced 9.5 points per game, shooting 47.6% from the field. He's not necessarily a great three-point shooter, but he drained 31.9% of his 4.5 attempts per game last year. With the Grizzlies, he shot at a 40.5% clip from three, taking 3.1 attempts per game.
If you take stock in the G League section of a player's resume, Huff won Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA G League First Team, NBA G League All-Defensive Team, and NBA G League blocks leader in 2023.
Why would the Sixers call the Pacers for Huff?
Nobody will overlook the idea that the Sixers are weakest at the center position on paper. Joel Embiid is an MVP-level talent, but he hasn't crossed 40 games in a single season in three straight years. Behind him are two centers with upside, but who clearly have work to do: Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti.
One or both of them could convince the Sixers that everything is going to be fine. Or, it could go in the opposite direction, forcing the Sixers to look at other players to try out there. Huff is still way under the radar at this stage of his career, but he might just be the only realistic target for Philly from Indiana, assuming the Sixers are going to find themselves on the hunt for small-scale deals.