The Philadelphia 76ers may have a few options to trade for a star, but there may be only one that emerges as likely.

It’s looking more and more as if the Philadelphia 76ers’ “fallback” option will give them their best shot to trade for a star player this offseason.

There’s no sugarcoating it for the Philadelpiha 76ers heading into the NBA offseason. They are entering the summer with the goal of acquiring a third star that could excel next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. The front office has put the team in a position to be successful this season in terms of cap space and trade assets (draft capital), and now it’s about finding the right target – whether that’s via free agency or trade.

But that could end up being the hardest part for the Sixers. Naturally, Philadelphia is going to express interest in the biggest names in free agency and on the trade block. But acquiring any one of them could be difficult to pull off, especially considering the names that are reportedly on the team’s radar heading into the start of the offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers could find trouble trading for a star

A few of the “preferred” names that have already been linked to the Sixers include LeBron James, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant. Realistically speaking, the Sixers aren’t going to be able to pry LeBron, Jimmy, or KD away from their current situations. It would be quite shocking if they did. PG gives the Sixers the best shot to land one of their top targets this offseason but even then, it’s hard not to see PG’s representatives using the Sixers as leverage in their pursuit of a long-term deal with the Clippers.

If that’s exactly how the start of this offseason plays out, there’s a case to be made that Philly’s best shot to land a star player will be in settling for one of their “fallback” options. Putting all the pieces of what could transpire this offseason together, it’s looking more and more as if the team’s primary “fallback” option could be Brandon Ingram.

Ingram is the one star that many across the league believe will be traded this summer and considering that the Sixers are going to enter the offseason desperate to find a third supporting star, it seems like these two narratives could end up intersecting at some point this summer.

The big question is whether Ingram would be the piece that can take the Sixers to elite status in the Eastern Conference. If that does end up being the move that makes the most sense and emerges as the most realistic for the Sixers, how much better would it make the team heading into next season?

Ingram as a No. 1 option in New Orleans didn’t work, but him as a No. 3 option in Philly could be quite lethal. Even if the Sixers have to settle for a “fallback” option, they’re still going to be in a really good spot moving forward.