The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the best records in the East, but their win-loss card could have been even better had Joel Embiid not missed seven games due to injury. In those outings, the team has gone 2-5, a not-so-inspiring mark considering that the reigning MVP is not really an NBA iron man.

Paul Reed and Mo Bamba have been he prime beneficiaries of additional court time in contests sans Embiid, but the two have been a tad too inconsistent to handle larger responsibilities. Hence, the backup center spot should be something worth upgrading for the 76ers front office. Luckily, the trade market has the perfect second-unit big man the team should pursue.

The 76ers should trade for this veteran backup big man

One player widely believed to be available for trade is Utah Jazz center Kelly Olynyk. The 32-year-old is on an expiring deal, and with the team starting to funnel minutes onto their young core players, the Jazz will inevitably try to liquidate him for assets before the deadline so as to avoid losing him for nothing.

Olynyk is currently averaging 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in just 21.9 minutes per game on 55.9 percent shooting from the field, which includes an impressive 41 percent conversion rate on three-pointers.

Few big men, especially those coming off the bench, has been better than Olynyk this season. Unlike Reed and Bamba, hes a battle-tested veteran with a skillset malleable enough to fit different roles. He’s a crafty playmaking big who is a bona fide threat from the perimeter and finishes plays at a high clip. He can also still play the 4 in spurts, potentially giving the 76ers the wiggle room to trot out bigger lineups with Embiid manning the paint.

Fortunately, Philadelphia also has a slew of ways to match salaries and make a deal work, either by making a direct swap with one of their bevy of expiring deals, to consolidating players on small-scale contracts.

With the Philadelphia 76ers continuing to struggle for the most part without Joel Embiid, trading for Kelly Olynyk would be a nice, win-now move that epxands their margin of error a little bit when the reigning MVP is sidelined with injury.

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After missing out on OG Anunoby, the Philadelphia 76ers front office is now more incentivized to strongly consider keeping the roster intact. After all, their current deck has been good enough to be profiled as a contender, and even more so when players have been healthy.

But going by precedence, Daryl Morey and company are unlikely to toss aside the prospect of making an in-season trade that easily. Philly is still led by players far from being branded as iron men. Thus, ameliorating the team’s depth further is more of a necessity than a luxury.

That being said, should the 76ers consider trading for this former NBA Sixth Man of the Year?

Should the 76ers consider trading for Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson?

One of those pegged to be available for plucking via trade is Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson. A former Sixth Man of the Year awardee in 2021, the 31-year-old has had a really slow start to the season, posting 16.9 points and 5.1 assists per game on an inefficient 39.9 percent shooting from the floor, including a meager 29.5 percent conversion rate on three-pointers.

However, Clarkson is still a valuable and proven scorer, particularly off the bench. And even a 20-game cold stretch may not be enough for his ship to capsize. Should the 76ers pounce?

While touting one of the league’s best offenses, Philadelphia is traditionally an injury-riddled team — a trend that has so far continued this season. That depletes the bench, giving the front office some legroom to make a move for someone who can start when needed and score in bunches off the bench when the main cogs are healthy.

Can Clarkson be that guy? Well, yes. But should he be that guy is a question that veers toward a big no-no.

No one off the 76ers bench packs the same punch as Clarkson, but between Kelly Oubre Jr. and Marcus Morris Sr., the team already has two veterans who can fill scvoring voids, even if neither of them goes off the way Clarkson does on the cursory.

But perhaps more importantly, Clarkson’s contract will definitely not be something Philadelphia’s brass will find alluring, as he’s signed for two more seasons after the current one at an average annual salary of $23.4 million. For a franchise hellbent on hoarding talent through free agency next year, that’s a huge turn-off.

Ultimately, while Jordan Clarkson is an attractive get for win-now teams with the Jazz starting to double down on their youth movement, the Philadelphia 76ers have little use for his skill set, especially when taking into account his not-so-inspiring pay.