Have Philadelphia 76ers Reason to Pursue Trade For Paul George?

Have The Philadelphia 76ers Reached That Fork In The Road. Reason to Pursue Trade For Paul George?

The Philadelphia 76ers have been working hard to shore up their team. As of today, they appear to have a core team that revolves around a center, power forward, and point guard. But the Sixers offense has sputtered this season. While the defense shows up on some nights, the offense appears to be stuck in the planning phase.

Until now, the 76ers have simply had too many questions on the team to consider the effort and dilution of the 2016 NBA draft to weigh in on an epic trade scenario. But the team has not lie dormant in the field of posies sleeping. Instead, the team has added point guard Ish Smith, who has ignited the Sixers back to competitive. The team is also bringing on Elton Brand to play some minutes and to help develop the teams bevy of big players.

But the team is rich in big players, so much so that Sixer Sense editor Josh Wilson examined which players should be traded. But to which team, and for whom?

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An obvious “spash” trade would be to target the Indiana Pacers star small forward Paul George. We had considered that trade possibility in an article written by George Kondoleon back in the fall. At the time, it was a good debate, with a general consensus that the team should sit tight on it’s assets.

But a new dawn of a new day is upon us. Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are not quite as compatible on the court as we had hoped they might become. With the point guard adequately manned with Ish Smith and backed up by T.J.McConnell, do the Sixers now have reason to pursue a trade with the Pacers? Perhaps.

You see, the fork in the road may be coming up on the Sixers sooner rather than later. Jahlil Okafor is a post player. He loves and lives under that hoop, and his offense is fairly impressive. Nerlens Noel plays the post as well, but he is a low volume high efficiency scorer. His forte’ is defense. With the Sixers gluttony of big men, we’ve weighed on the debate of which player should go. In his article, Josh Wilson does a masterful job of discussing pros and cons of each option. With the emergence of Ish Smith as the legitimate point guard the Sixers had sought, backed up by T.J. McConnell, the team appears to be set for now. With Nerlens Noel at center and with the long awaited return to health of Joel Embiid, the team appears to be set at the center and power forward positions. As an interim, Carl Landry has been steadfast and consistent at the power forward position.

What the team is most lacking of right now is that veteran swing man. Indiana’s Paul George is an NBA star in that category.

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It just so happens that the Indiana Pacer’s are in need of depth and a big man up front. They are heading for the playoffs, but are walking a narrow path right now. Can they build around a player like Paul George quickly enough to make a difference to get up and over the hump? What if they were able to convert George now: into a top player and draft assets? The team has some good talent already in small forward C.J. Miles, shooting guard Monta Ellis, and point guard George Hill. But Paul George is 25 years old, and over half of the team is older. In sharp contrast, the Philadelphia 76ers are virtually all younger – with the exception of Carl Landry, Ish Smith, and recently acquired Elton Brand.

But age means nothing. What could turn this deal into a win win?

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The Sixers have Joel Embiid returning to health next season, and coming to America soon Dario Saric. And yes, they have draft picks. The NBA mega-deal affectionately known as the James Harden deal involved a star player, James Harden, being traded for two first round picks, a second round pick, and players Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb for Harden. The trade placed Harden onto the Houston rockets, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to use the draft picks to restock the roster. Could a mega-deal between the Sixers and the Pacers work for both teams?

What if the Sixers offered as a package to the Indiana Pacers the combination of the L.A. Lakers protected first round pick, the Miami Heat first round pick, Jahlil Okafor and Robert Covington and a future second round pick for Paul George today? The Philadelphia 76ers are not currently in a position to compete for the playoffs. But George is not happy in playing at the power forward role for the Pacers. On the Sixers, he would slide into his small forward role. The Sixers would continue to have the rights to their own first round pick, the first round pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Embiid, Saric, and Paul George.

The Indiana Pacers are well within their rights to be nervous right now. Their roster is leaning to the long in tooth region, and their current success has them making the playoffs, but selecting at the twentieth pick in the 2016 NBA draft. If they believe they can retool the team on the fly, while entering and competing in playoff basketball, they will likely balk and do nothing. The Pacers need a presence at the post – a player in the ilk of Jahlil Okafor – who can score and rebound.

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But they will be repeating the same mental exercise next year, a year later, with aging players. At some point, the Indiana Pacers will arrive at a point where they will face the dilemma facing today’s Los Angeles Lakers. Do they want to do that later, or accelerate to that point? Only their front office can decide that fate. If they consider other options, they know how to reach Sam Hinkie. They could both come out of a trade as winners.