The Philadelphia 76ers overcame a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs. A rousing victory, to say the least. It broke a decades-long spell and exorcised a great many Boston-related demons — most notably for Joel Embiid, whose early return from an appendectomy completely befuddled the Celtics.

Then the New York Knicks swept the Sixers in dominant fashion and Daryl Morey’s tenure as president of basketball operations came to an unceremonious end. While Morey was an incredible talent evaluator and he almost never lost on a major trade, the max contracts he handed to Joel Embiid and Paul George, combined with a ton of costly cuts along the margins, left the Sixers without a functional bench in the playoffs. Jared McCain going off in OKC’s second-round win over the Lakers probably didn’t help his cause.

While ownership deserves its share of blame for always ducking the tax, Morey did not need to trade McCain to duck the tax. He also let Julian Champagnie, Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe walk in recent years, all of whom are still contributing in major ways for current postseason contenders.

Let’s talk through a few major changes Philly could pursue as with new management coming in soon.

Joel Embiid for Domantas Sabonis

Next season beings a three-year, $188 million max extension for Joel Embiid, who hasn’t appeared in at least than 40 regular season games since 2022-23. When the Sixers signed Embiid to that extension, the risk was understood. But he was also a perennial MVP candidate and a top-two player in the world, so the complaints were muted.

Embiid’s injury issues and predictable decline have turned it into one of the more unpalatable contracts in the NBA. While Embiid is still a massive talent who can change the geometry of the court with his presence (see: Celtics series), the lack of availability, often the result of historically bad injury luck, has made it hard to build a coherent, contending roster.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports that other NBA decision-makers are floating one potential trade avenue for Philadelphia: a Domantas Sabonis swap with the Sacramento Kings. Both All-Star big men could, in theory, use a change of scenery, and the Kings are a front office with a higher risk quotient than other, more level-headed organizations.

“One longshot scenario that does get mentioned by rival team strategists is an Embiid-for-Domantas Sabonis swap with Sacramento,” he writes, “but even longshot might be underselling it.”

Sabonis was limited to 19 appearances this past season with a back injury, but he’s a couple years younger than Embiid and he’s only under contract for two more years, not three. He’s due roughly $20 million less than Embiid over the next couple seasons.

The durability factor favors Sabonis, while Embiid is a much more impactful presence. If the Kings want to shake the foundations of their team and gamble on Embiid’s immense talent, the Sixers could shift their team-building focus around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, with Sabonis operating as a helpful facilitator and complementary scorer in the post.

There is at least some logic to such a trade, even if the Kings would be better off tearing it down completely. And for the Sixers, it’s fair to wonder if Sabonis — with a dirt-poor postseason track record — is really worth the marginal financial benefits. It’s not like acquiring Sabonis suddenly puts Philadelphia on a clearer path to championship contention. It provides more stability, sure, but to what end?

Despite everything that has happened over the past two years, there’s a case for the Sixers to just run it back. Or Philadelphia can try to tear it down and refocus around Maxey and Edgecombe, two young guards with winning personalities and complementary skill sets.

Here are a few more potential moves:

Paul George for Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Dru Smith

Paul George has roughly two years and $110 million left on his contract, which is often mentioned right alongside Embiid’s as “untradable.” But upon his return from a 25-game suspension this season, George looked reborn. He was comfortable and confident creating off the dribble and burying rhyhtm 3s, while his defense on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in the Celtics series was nothing short of spectacular.

It does feel like George has rehabbed his value enough to open up the possibility of a trade. And if the Sixers are desperate enough to offload Embiid, one would assume that offloading George and completely resetting their timeline in the next step.

The Heat feel like a team desperate enough for star-power under the Pat Riley regime. Andrew Wiggins is on a cheaper deal that also expires in two years, while Davion Mitchell and Dru Smith serve as sufficient salary filler.

The Sixers probably don’t get much draft capital, if any, but Wiggins offers durability and two-way competence on the wing. He’s five years younger than George, too, with a solid postseason résumé that includes a brilliant championship run with Golden State in 2022.

George raises Miami’s ceiling. He is still better than Wiggins at full strength. The Sixers get a bit more flexibility cap-wise and once again turn their focus to building around Maxey and Edgecombe. Much like an Embiid-Sabonis swap, however, Philadelphia needs to determine whether this trade (or a similar deal) really accomplishes anything — if it really improves their competitive timeline versus riding out the life of George’s contract and resetting two years from now.

After a genuinely impressive postseason, George has not only improved his trade value. He has made it more difficult for the Sixers to completely abandon hope.

Draft Morez Johnson Jr.

The impact of the NBA Draft Combine is often overblown, but it does feel like Morez Johnson Jr. has improved his odds of coming off the board before the Sixers pick at No. 22 after stellar athletic testing. Given their wealth of movable picks after the Jared McCain trade, however, Philadelphia has the ammo to move up a few spots if needed.

Johnson feels like the most obvious fit for Philadelphia in that middle portion of the first round. He was the third wheel in an uber-talented, overpowering Michigan frontcourt, but Johnson is a hellacious defender with utility as a small-ball five or as a switchy, rim-protecting power forward next to Embiid.

The Sixers need size, athleticism and rebounding, all of which Johnson provides in spades. He’s not the most evolved offensive weapon, but the 3-point shot projects well and he was extremely efficient around the rim, able to apply significant blunt force with his 6-foot-9, 251-pound frame.

Johnson is the prospect who most readily addresses all of Philadelphia’s most significant needs in the frontcourt. Even if it requires a small fortune to move up and select him, that’s a move Philadelphia would have little trouble justifying.

Sign an elevated backup center

Philadelphia should have access to the $15 million nontaxpayer mid-level exception if both Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes leave in free agency. And while re-signing either of them is not without merit, the Sixers need to work every angle to improve the margins of this roster — especially if Embiid and George aren’t traded.

The Sixers need perimeter defense and a decent backup guard, but another obvious point of attrition last season was the backup center position. Given all of Embiid’s baked-in uncertainty, it could behoove the Sixers to spend more than the average team on a decent second option at the five spot.

Drafting Morez Johnson Jr., for example, could mitigate that need in free agency, but the Sixers need multiple bodies, multiple different looks, in case Embiid misses significant time. Adem Bona should stick around, but he’s too mistake-prone for an emergency starter. Andre Drummond, to be frank, is probably their easiest offseason cut.

Jusuf Nurkić could do the job as a big-bodied post scorer who’d fill a similar role behind Embiid as a drop coverage rim protector. Deandre Ayton could test the waters, and while Morey is no longer in charge, we’ve seen the Sixers bet on flawed talent many times in recent years. Mitchell Robinson is the dream outcome, but $15 million — even in a deflated marketplace — probably undersells him a bit.

Other potential buy-low candidates, should Philadelphia decide to expend resources elsewhere, are Robert Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili — a bouncy rim-runner and shot-blocker extraordinaire, and a skilled stretch five with legitimate playmaking chops.

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