The Sixers made a deal with the Washington Wizards on Thursday morning, swapping point guards and draft picks. The full details of the trade, a source told PhillyVoice:
Sixers receive: Jared Butler, more favorable of Golden State and Phoenix's 2027 second-round picks, 2028 Golden State second-round pick, more favorable of Phoenix and Portland's 2030 second-round picks, 2030 Washington second-round pick
Wizards receive: Reggie Jackson, least favorable of Oklahoma City, Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers' 2026 first-round picks
Butler, 24, is on a two-way contract at the moment, but one would guess the Sixers will likely convert him to a standard NBA contract in the near future. (Because he is currently a two-way player, the Sixers will waive Pete Nance to make room, a source said.) The same is true for undrafted two-way rookie Justin Edwards, who has started six consecutive games for his hometown team.
The Sixers are now at just 12 players on their standard NBA roster, but have a few more hours to make deals if they choose to, or can simply convert Edwards and Butler to standard contracts and move forward.
A string of notes and thoughts on this unconventional swap of an NBA player and two-way player, plus a first-round pick for a collection of second-round picks — and why it represents a good piece of business by the Sixers:
• To trade a first-round pick only a year away for four second-round picks, two of which will not convey for more than five years, seems questionable at first glance. But this first-rounder in particular has about as low of an upside as one could imagine. Because it is the least favorable of the first-round picks of three different teams, just one of those teams needs to have a very good year for this pick to end up near the end of the first round.
When looking at the teams involved in this conditional piece, it becomes more clear why the Sixers were willing to move this selection: Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA so far this season with a young core that sets them up to dominate for many years to come. Houston also has a terrific group of young players and, at 32-18, is the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
• Adding four second-round picks gives the Sixers a surplus of them over the next seven years, which will help in facilitating future deals.
Second-round picks owned by the Sixers in the next seven drafts after their trades this week:
2025: more favorable of PHI/DEN
2026: none
2027: PHI + more favorable of GSW/PHX
2028: GSW + DET (top-55 protected)
2029: PHI
2030: PHI + WAS + more favorable of PHX/POR
2031: PHI— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 6, 2025
• These four second-rounders are not cheapies, either. It is a fool's errand to try to predict the landing spot of second-round picks more than a year or two in advance, but with every single one of the picks they added, it easy to imagine the upside scenario in which it is a top-40 selection.
• Jackson has had a few nice moments in the last few weeks and was a major hit in the locker room, but has never been consistently good enough for the Sixers to view him as a viable rotation piece on a competitive team. Butler is not a proven commodity himself, but likely has a much better chance of being someone head coach Nick Nurse can rely on, with some upward mobility as a 24-year-old as well.
• Butler has apparently been on the Sixers' radar dating back to when he was a draft prospect in 2021, but he may have helped renew that interest when he faced the team in Philadelphia as an opponent last month. In only 20 minutes off the bench, Butler torched the Sixers for a career-high 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field:
Former #Baylor guard Jared Butler posted a career-high 26 points tonight. #SicEm pic.twitter.com/qxYecem2V3
— Grayson Grundhoefer (@GrayGrundhoefer) January 9, 2025
• The Sixers should have enough breathing room under the luxury tax to convert Edwards and Butler to standard deals, which can account for this year at the prorated minimum salary as well as next season at a modest raise. They still have a few hours to make trades, but if there is nothing left to do, expect an Edwards conversion in the coming days and very likely one for Butler, too.
• Butler should not be viewed as some sort of blue chip prospect, nor should he be seen as a lock to stick in the Sixers' rotation. But he does have a real chance to work his way into this guard rotation almost immediately, and if he performs well could profile as the team's third ball-handler behind Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain long-term.
• This trade is not a grand slam for the Sixers, or even a home run. But it is always valuable to get a base hit. Shedding Jackson's salary and giving themselves a chance to hit on Butler as a backup point guard at the cost of a swap of draft picks that could also end up favoring their side of the deal is a nice piece of business by the Sixers.
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