Ed Stefanski Plays Into Trade Rumors By Denying Them

Written By Bob Cunningham On Saturday, June 12, 2010

Stefanski might be inadvertently showing his hand.



As the NBA draft creeps closer and closer, rumors are going to get more frequent and, quite honestly, a bit crazy. But if we sit and sift through the rumors, there's bound to be something that makes some sense.

Enter Chad Ford of ESPN.com:

"Since Turner is the consensus No. 2 pick in the draft," Ford writes, "the Sixers want other teams trying to trade up for him (the Wolves and Pacers seem to be the hottest suitors) to believe that they’re taking him. If teams think he’s slipping, they'll begin dealing with New Jersey instead."

Makes sense. If teams believe that there's a possibility Turner could fall to the third pick, why would the try to move up to the second pick? One pick might not seem to make much of a difference, but the price tag between the second and third overall pick is certainly noticeable.

Ed Stefanksi has recently denied rumors that the Sixers are looking to move out of the second pick, but all that does is reinforce what Ford is saying.

"We're listening to anybody who calls, but we have not shopped the No. 2 pick whatsoever," Stefanski said. "We don't shut our phones off, but it would take a blockbuster for us to consider moving the pick."

Exactly. Stefanski doesn't have to get on the horn to other teams because he knows they will call him. In fact, getting on the phone and shopping the pick actually hurts their chances of trading the pick because teams then feel like they have some leverage on the Sixers.

If Stefanski is simply answering the phone and acting uninterested, however, it means the Sixers hold all the cards.

Like Stefanski says, it would take a blockbuster deal to make this happen, but it's certainly not impossible.

The Sixers could be looking to move back in the first round as well as acquire a second-round pick, they could hold out for a veteran, swap drafted players or any other number of scenarios, but it certainly doesn't seem like a foregone conclusion that Evan Turner winds up a Sixer.


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