Sixers Al Horford trade destinations: Rockets
This is a three-team trade involving the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets. Originally it was going to be just a two-team trade between the Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers. However, I personally didn’t like the players the Sixers could get back from Houston based on the Bleacher Report trade, so expanding it to a three-team trade makes much more sense. Below is the potential trade.
Draft compensation not included in the graphic above.
In this potential three-team trade, the 76ers get Otto Porter Jr. and Ben McLemore, the Rockets get Horford, and the Bulls get Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, a 2020 second round pick via the Atlanta Hawks, and a 2020 second round pick via the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets are experimenting with a super-small lineup this season and if they fail in the playoffs, they could look to add a big man this offseason to help with rebounding and interior defense. Horford is a big man that can stretch the floor for James Harden and Russell Westbrook. He can also play a two-man game with either former MVP as I mentioned he could do the same with Curry and Thompson in the previous slide.
The Bulls new general manager Marc Eversley may be willing to help out his former team. The Bulls get two solid veterans to help guide their young roster and should be able to flip Tucker in another trade pretty easily. Two second round picks for what is essentially a salary dump isn’t bad either.
This makes sense for Philly in the sense that the Porter only has one more year left on his contract, which is a player option and he will probably opt-into that last year. He won’t be a long-term financial burden like Horford would be and Porter is a much better fit as a two-way wing.
Porter struggled with injuries and inconsistent play last season and if he can prove to provide quality play for a contender, it should help him out next time he becomes a free agent. The Sixers also get a quality 3-point shooter in McLemore.