Why the Philadelphia 76ers do it
For Philadelphia, the trade should feel like a no-brainer. Even if Phoenix insists on sending a different young player such as Ty Jerome or Cameron Johnson, Philadelphia would have to be happy.
Philadelphia would march out this potential depth chart:
- PG: Ben Simmons – Jeff Teague
- SG: Josh Richardson – Matisse Thybulle
- SF: Robert Covington – Mikal Bridges
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid – Aron Baynes
Philadelphia would immediately see returns on shooting and floor spacing. They would have four switch-everything defensive stalwarts with a potential Defensive Player of the Year talent in Embiid patrolling the paint. They would also sure up their backup point guard position and have a strong, pure center behind Joel Embiid.
Trading away three second-round picks would still leave Philadelphia with a draft pick in both rounds for 2020 and the inclusions of Covington and Bridges (or another Phoenix youngster) would provide affordable depth to Philadelphia for years to come as their team becomes more expensive.
Again, I don’t expect this to happen. Three-team trades are never easy and 10-player trades are practically unheard of, but Philadelphia should explore the market and what a coup this would be.