Philadelphia 76ers should kickstart the Chris Paul bidding war

By Christopher Kline | Apr 11, 2020

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

It’s time for the Philadelphia 76ers to, once again, go all-in.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a stumbling, bumbling mess of a franchise. At face value, the switch from Bryan Colangelo to Elton Brand was an improvement. Twitter is our witness. When one analyzes the moves made and the motives behind them, however, the two front office heads have been equally negligent and short-sighted.

Once upon a time, the Sixers were asset-rich. They were on the brim of contention, and their trajectory was up. Now the Sixers are stuck in no-man’s land — a contender, sort of, but not a serious contender. A good team, yes, but a dysfunctional and poorly-constructed one.

It was Brand who decided Al Horford‘s four-year contract was a superior option to Jimmy Butler, who claims the Sixers wanted to “control” him. If that is indeed the reason behind Butler’s departure, Brand’s reputation should be irrevocably harmed.

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The Sixers’ front office squandered the NBA’s brightest situation in an effort to move beyond Sam Hinkie’s slow and meticulous rebuild. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are two 25-and-under superstars, yet Philadelphia has proven itself woefully incapable of building around them. A true failure in team-building.

A sizable challenge lies ahead. The Sixers, despite no cap space and a limited pool of assets, must find a way to build more coherently around Embiid and Simmons. It will likely require a major trade and a major stylistic change. The one clear option — and maybe the Sixers’ best chance at a return to true contention — is Chris Paul.

Oklahoma City has exceeded all expectations this season, in large part due to Paul’s renaissance. After a sketchy final campaign in Houston, Paul has retuned to top-20 form. He’s an All-Star, and his mind is as sharp as ever. He can manipulate a defense as well as any lead guard in basketball.

The Thunder simply have no reason to keep him if a fair price is offered. A massive rebuild is on the horizon, and OKC knows it. The goal is to build long-term around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — not to go all-in for the fifth seed.

Paul is a ripe 34. He will decline at some point, and it’s in the best interest of OKC to trade him while his value is high. It’s in the Sixers’ best interest to competently build around their current stars. CP3 is a natural fit alongside Embiid and Simmons.

The Sixers will have challengers in the CP3 marketplace. There is a chance the Lakers, Bucks, Heat, and Clippers all have interest in Paul’s services. It’s up to Philadelphia to offer the best package, which likely revolves around future first-round picks.

It is undeniably risky to invest multiple first-round picks in a 34-year-old, especially a 6-foot-nothing 34-year-old. But CP3 is a generational talent, and at this point in time, the Sixers have already screwed themselves in the form of Horford. At this point, there’s no reason not to take a desperate leap of faith.

Ideally, Philadelphia is able to craft a package around Horford. The Sixers offer Horford, filler salary, and a small treasure trove of picks, and that convinces OKC to eat the remaining three years on Horford’s contract.

In return, the Sixers get CP3 for two (much more expensive) seasons. Assuming he takes advantage of his player option (which he will), Paul is owed $44.2 million in 2021-22. It’s certainly a risk to spend $44 million on a 36-year-old, but its a risk the Sixers are unfortunately equipped to take.

The Sixers have very little hope of getting true value for Horford on the trade market. If they can wrangle CP3 out of it, even if the cost is a mortgage of Philadelphia’s future, the Sixers should have little hesitancy to pull the trigger. If CP3 can maintain his current form or something close to it, he immediately puts the Sixers back in the Eastern Conference’s upper tier.

There is a good chance the Thunder scoff at any offer involving Horford. If that is the case, the next logical step is to center a package on Tobias Harris. Harris is much younger, and in my mind, he’s largely underrated. Even so, the Sixers should happily swap Harris for Paul, who is A) a significant step up on the talent ladder and B) on a shorter contract.

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Trading for CP3 would represent a huge gamble by the front office, but it would also represent a hugely necessary gamble. As currently constructed, the Sixers are going nowhere fast. Paul would reinvigorate Philadelphia’s halfcourt offense, and his abilities in the pick-and-roll would unlock Embiid and Simmons in new ways. The benefits of Paul, if used correctly, are wide-ranging.