DN Agenda: Will the Sixers get most impact through trade or free agency?

In the agenda, the Daily News will examine a major issue of the day in Philadelphia sports. We will frame the question and look at it from multiple angles, bringing you opinions from a sports staff unmatched in its experience. The Agenda will run occasionally, only in the Daily News.

Free agency is mostly a bidding war. Players are looking to collect a big pay day, sometimes shunning thoughts of how they will fit, where the organization is going and other factors.

That's what many here in Philly want to think, but it's not totally true. The 76ers have a boatload of money to spend, with the second-most room under the salary cap behind the Lakers. They can pretty much compete with any other franchise when it comes to offering big bucks to a free agent. Where they can't compete, and why the more realistic avenue to improvement is via trade(s), is the recent history of the program.

Forget about the Kevin Durants and other high-profile free agents magically landing in Philadelphia. It's just not going to happen. Players like that are looking for championships, to join teams with already established stars. Money is almost secondary. Philadelphia isn't even a blip on their radars.

And if you go to second-tier free agents such as DeMar DeRozan, Mike Conley and the like, the same thinking pretty much applies. Conley is a tough point guard who would fit perfectly on a team that needs point-guard play and veteran leadership. That just so happens to be what his current team, the Memphis Grizzlies, also needs. A league source told me that they will overpay to keep him and are already working on bringing him back.

DeRozan's Raptors are an up-and-coming team in the East with a terrific backcourt and improving young big men. It would be quite shocking if he left Toronto and landed in Philly.

Perhaps the values of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor aren't what many in this city believe they should be. But the draft changed many teams in many different ways. Some are guard heavy; others - such as the Sixers - are overloaded with big men. The Sixers need to focus their attention on teams needing bigs. For the most part, many would be thrilled to pay for a big man who has the potential to be a 20-plus point scorer in the league for many years. Of course, Okafor possesses deficiencies, but what player with only 53 games under his belt doesn't? His upside, despite his defense and rebounding, is almost unimaginable.

And with the new style of play in the league, an athletic rim protector like Noel is practically a must. He almost certainly could get the Sixers an enticing figure in return.

The product isn't yet attractive enough to lure free agents who could move the team forward. Perhaps trades won't help either. But if the team is looking to make a significant impact, trading trumps free agency right now.

The Colangelos promised that they would make the Sixers more competitive right away. Then they drafted a power point forward and a pair of overseas gunners. This does little for the franchise immediately.

Adding a versatile, accomplished point guard would do the most good. Unfortunately, the free-agency pool is shallow this year, and the best ones - Mike Conley, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams - won't come to a team headed for at least 55 losses, no matter what the price (you don't want Rondo for free).

The Sixers' best option, then, is to determine the best point guard who might be available in a trade, then leverage some of the ubiquitous "assets" deposed genius Sam Hinkie stockpiled. Then, if possible, sign that point guard to an uncomfortably large contract.

Shaun Livingston fits that profile nicely.

He will be 31 this season, his 12th, but those were 11 low-mileage years; he never averaged even 30 minutes per game. A catastrophic knee injury in 2007 derailed his career for two years and he had to climb back into the NBA through the D-League. Playing behind Steph Curry the past two seasons, he was part of a Golden State bench other teams simply could not handle.

He would be a perfect fit. He has played for nine teams. He can defend four positions. He can run a team, score off the dribble, post up - and he can teach all of his teammates to do the same. It would be like having an assistant coach on the court.

The Sixers have plenty of money this year and next to overpay Livingston. He is due just $5.7 million this season and has made just a little over $30 million in his career, and his window to make double-digit millions annually is closing. He has a ring, so maybe money would be more important to Livingston than to most players.

This assumes, of course, that the Warriors would be willing to listen. Livingston and sixth man Andre Iguodala make the Warriors nearly invincible when playing with a healthy roster. What would it take? Plenty.

Nerlens Noel, to start. The Warriors' Andrew Bogut is entering the final year of his contract, after which he will be 32. Festus Ezeli looks like a career backup center. Surrounded by superior offensive players, Noel would be asked to do little on that end for years to come.

If it takes more than Noel, fine. Send that annoying conditional pick from the Lakers, which remains top-three protected through the next draft.

Yes, it sounds like a lot for a 31-year-old career backup who never averaged double-digit points, who doesn't shoot threes and who you plan to overpay.

It is a lot.

With so many young players to develop, with such a void of veteran presence and leadership, it is a price the Colangelos will pay in some form, sooner or later.

The Sixers can't trot out a rotation of 18- to 22-year-olds again. So how do they rectify that situation and get stable voices in the locker room and on the court? Make a trade or two.

Take one or more of the bigs and get a veteran wing and/or point guard who has won, but won't be offended by being placed in what has been a basketball netherworld.

Chasing free agents at this moment for this franchise is probably fool's gold. Some of the names are incredibly attractive, but since the money is so available, winning is going to be a decider for most and the Sixers are nowhere near that stage. I am sure the practice facility is going to be great, but other teams have great practice facilities too.

Some combination of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid (hopefully), Jahlil Okafor (if he's not traded), Nerlens Noel (if he's not traded) and Euro draft choices (past and present) gives needed hope, but this regime can't just let them loose in an unforgiving league and hope they figure it out. They need direction beyond the coaching staff. They need mentors.

The organization also needs to start putting together an actual team, not a collection of draft choices with potential. The Sixers need shooters, defenders, passers and leaders, and it would be really nice if they could get a few players who were all of those things.

I could throw a bunch of names around, but there is enough misinformation floating about already. Bryan Colangelo and Brett Brown know the problems as well as we do. What we don't know are the specific players they might like or who could be available.

The Sixers could not make any deals happen on draft night, but the long NBA summer is just beginning. There is ample time to change this roster in a positive way. Keep making calls, be relentless and make it happen.

Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo said there are three parts of team building - the draft, free agency and trades.

Unless LeBron James decides he now wants to revive Philadelphia basketball after saving Cleveland, the biggest move the Sixers will make came last Thursday when they selected Ben Simmons with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Still, if Colangelo is truly dedicated to pushing the Sixers' rebuilding plan to the next phase, he was always going to have to find a way to successfully utilize free agency and make positive trades.

Both have difficult obstacles Colangelo will have to overcome if he is going to get a few more decent pieces to move things forward.

First let's get rid of any fantasies that James or Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, both unrestricted, are coming to Philadelphia - no way, not gonna happen, fughetaboudit.

The Sixers are too far away from contending for either of those two to waste any of their prime years. The Sixers have the money, but neither will take it.

Honestly, considering what stage the Sixers are at, it isn't a good free-agent crop to fit what they are trying to do.

The Sixers should have specific criteria for any free agent they are going to make a big-ticket play for - still young and still with upside.

The problem is players like that rarely even get to restricted free agency and when they do, the price skyrockets - increasing the possibility of a deal that eventually makes you suffer buyer's remorse.

If Colangelo is going to make a run at restricted free agents such as Warriors forward Harrison Barnes, Wizards guard Bradley Beal, or Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, or unrestricted players such as Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons, he better be right.

Of course, the biggest problem is those players will likely be offered similar money by better teams than the Sixers.

That doesn't mean the Sixers should blow off free agency for a fourth consecutive offseason.

Just accept that because of the rise in the salary cap, a lot of guys are going to get paid more than what their abilities say they should.

Veteran rotation players like Hornets point guard Jeremy Linand shooting guard Courtney Lee, Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova, Pelicans shooting guard Eric Gordon or Mavericks point guard Raymond Felton aren't going to turn heads, but they are the type of old hands who could help young players grow.

For a little extra cash, veterans like those could be satisfied being mentors on a team like the Sixers.

As far as acquiring another impact piece or two, trades seem to be the most likely vehicle for the Sixers.

Colangelo did not make any deals on draft night, but likely has a better understanding of how the players he has - particularly centers Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel - are viewed by other teams.

A week gives teams a chance to assess how they shape up after the draft and trade discussions can be revisited. I still expect Okafor or Noel to be dealt for value at different positions.

This is where all of those future first-round picks the Sixers have could come in handy.

Teams looking to move in new directions often determine that a player who was a key component last season is now replaceable.

For example, with the Timberwolves drafting point guard Kris Dunn fifth overall, the status of 25-year-old holdover Ricky Rubio and the $42 million he is still owed may have changed.

First-round picks are popular items in deals for players in situations like that, and also in doing a sign-and-trade.

The Sixers must do things in free agency, but if another big impact is made this summer it will come via trade.

Les Bowen: Trade

Bob Cooney: Trade

Doug Darroch: Trade

Jim DeStefano: Trade

Paul Domowitch: Free agent

Marcus Hayes: Trade

Adam Hermann: Free agent

Dick Jerardi: Trade

Mike Kern: Trade

Tom Mahon: Trade

Drew McQuade: Free agent

David Murphy: Trade

Mark Perner: Free agent

Max Rettig: Trade

John Smallwood: Trade

Bob Vetrone Jr.: Trade

Deb Woodell: Free agent