I still dont quite understand why DA pulled that trade.. Does he think the sixers will make big splashes in FA? taking two 2rd'ers for a bad contract, yes its bad, does not add up expecially when both Brooks and Crawford were coming off the books.. Ill just go on saying he knows something obviously we dont...
He did that trade because:
1) Brooks and Crawford were not going to be part of next year's team. They were assets that had no value after the trade deadline.
2) The draft picks are assets that have value until June 2015 and June 2016 at the least. So he got future value to make the team better.
3) Those picks can be traded to help bring in players, or be used to select cost-controlled depth. One of the undervalued aspects of young players on rookie deals on this board is that after a year of development, you have a rotation player for $1-2 million, which might cost you $5-6 million on the open market. That's $3-4 million you can direct from role players to star players. Get enough late 1st and seconds, and you find a diamond in the rough or two, and now you have a very good player on a cheap deal, and you're all the better. This is why Houston is in such a great position. This is why Philly was willing to acquire a ton of second rounders at the deadline. Most of those second rounders won't amount to much. But none of them will be guaranteed much beyond year 1, so if they don't pan out, they're gone. Those that are worth keeping are locked into a minimum deal for three more years, leaving you the ability to attack the free agent market luring two stars to pair with your cheap up-and-comers.
4) He did not/does not anticipate making a major free agent signing using cap room, so Anthony's salary is not a severe impairment until you get near the luxury tax. Accordingly, Anthony is really only a cost to the owners' poclets, who seem to have given him some flexibility with regards to those pockets.
5) If the opportunity presents itself to make a major trade for a star on a large deal, expiring contracts will be useful to make salaries match. Teams selling stars don't like taking on multi-year deals in return that aren't for young/cheap players, because they want the flexibility for the following off season to sell to their season-ticket holders ("I know we traded Kevin Love, but we got back a couple young stars in the making, draft picks, and we can be major players in free agency this summer").
6) Early second-round picks, which are what we get from the Sixers if they don't make the playoffs and give us a first-rounder, are worth about a million or dollars in cash to purchase, maybe a bit more depending on the depth of the draft. There are limits as to how much cash you can send out in trades every year, so we've gotten picks while not dipping into the limit. Even that probably late second from Miami can help grease the wheels of some trade, or has cash value in its own right (I think I saw it reported we paid about $700k for the pick for Colten Iverson, which will be around where the Miami pick winds up). I'd bet the cash value of those picks is very near what Anthony will be paid. Potentially more.
7) There is some talk of changing the draft lottery system as early as next year, since many NBA teams are mad at the Sixers. This includes allowing playoff teams to participate in the lottery, and/or lessen/remove the restriction on how far your draft slot can fall. Accordingly, there's an outside chance that pick conveys to us even if the Sixers tank again next year. Remote, but worth considering.