Grading recent Philadelphia 76ers proposed trades by Bleacher Report.
During this hiatus, a lot of websites come up with potential trade ideas. While The Sixers Sense has had its share of potential trade articles, this piece will be focused on a recent Bleacher Report article by Greg Swartz covering one trade made by every NBA team. In that article, the Philadelphia 76ers made five trades and this article will grade each one of those deals.
Hornets
Giovanni Spillman of Swarm and Sting had already written an analysis of this trade from the Charolette Hornets perspective. This trade was good for both sides involved and one that the front office should consider if the playoff proves to be disappointing for the 76ers.
Philly gets two solid rotation players in Terry Rozier and Cody Zeller. Adding these two players in this hypothetical deal would improve the 76ers’ depth dramatically. Rozier is a starting level point guard depending on the roster and is shooting 40.7 on 6.7 attempts from the 3-point line this season. He’d be a great fit on the Sixers because he and Ben Simmons can be a dynamic duo in the pick-and-roll as a pair of playmakers.
Zeller is a starting level center who would be a serviceable stop-gap replacement if Joel Embiid misses time moving forward. This season, Zeller is having a career year averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Considering that Zhaire Smith has had a rough tenure with the Sixers in terms of overall health, maybe including him in this hypothetical trade will be good for him. Getting off of Horford’s contract is also a major win here as well. The Oklahoma City Thunder pick that is top-20 protected is more than worth it to add quality depth and to offload Horford’s overpaid deal.
Grade: B+
Mavericks
Like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Dallas Mavericks have a dynamic young duo in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Unlike the duo of Simmons and Joel Embiid for Philly, Dallas’ young duo fit perfectly together and the Mavs need to figure out the best way to add talent around them. The hypothetical Bleacher Report does that for the Mavericks.
The Mavs get a big man that fits well next to Porzingis in Horford and the Sixers get some nice depth. Horford’s playmaking, defense, pick-and-roll skills, and floor spacing will be a perfect complement to Dallas’ strengths. He also allows Porzingis to play the power forward spot as well.
Despite getting some nice role players in Delon Wright, Dwight Powell, and to a less extent Justin Jackson, they don’t equal Horford’s talent. Wright is a solid backup point guard and while he’s having a good year from the 3-point line, he’s not good for his career from deep.
Powell is a starting level big man in the NBA. He can play either power forward or center but has been at center for the last few seasons. Before he had a season-ending injury, he was averaging 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds. He’s in the same boat as Zeller as a quality backup for Embiid.
Jackson isn’t panning out as an NBA because he’s not a great defender and can’t space the floor effectively. He doesn’t provide much at all and appears to be a throw-in for this trade. Swartz did make this point in favor of this trade for Philly.
"“For Philly, getting off Horford’s contract without giving up a draft pick is a win here.”"
It’s not fair value for Horford’s skills, but the Sixers get off of Horford’s bad deal and don’t have to give up a pick to do so. Which should make this trade palatable for most 76ers fans.
Grade: B-
Rockets
This hypothetical trade was for the Philadelphia 76ers specifically and to be honest, it’s my least favorite deal out of the five that was in the Bleacher Report article that was meant for the Sixers. The reason why? Well, the trade below should explain enough.
On the surface, the trade makes both teams get ride of one overpaid player for another that fits each team’s needs more, as Swartz indicated when writing about the deal. I’ve already written about Horford’s fit in Houston when I wrote about five potential trade destinations for the big man.
Eric Gordon is a dynamic perimeter scorer and has a career shooting average of 37.0 percent from downtown. Yet Gordon has a history of injuries that have caused him to miss a significant amount of games. Gordon’s ability to be available is a major red flag in this trade, as well as having a down year shooting it from deep.
Danuel House started his career in the G-League before making it in the NBA. House is a nice rotation player who is averaging 10.2 points on 36.9 percent shooting from behind the arc. He’s also is a solid defender which is plus.
Ben McLemore is a former lottery bust, but it’s fair to say that he’s saved his career being becoming a legit 3-point threat as a member of Rockets. This season he’s averaged 9.8 points on 39.5 percent shooting from downtown. He’s done so on 6.5 3-pointer per game, which is career-high.
While the Sixers get some positive floor spacers, Gordon’s injury history makes this fake deal a bad for Philly. If Houston were to give up a draft pick in this hypothetical trade it would make it better.
Grade: D+
Kings
The trade that Swartz had between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings doesn’t really move the need for the Sixers too much. However, it should be noted that this is the first trade that doesn’t include Horford.
Considering what the Sixers gave up to acquire Tobias Harris, this isn’t a fair value trade for the combo forward. It does give the 76ers more depth but, Harrison Barnes and Corey Joseph aren’t scrubs, but those two plus a second round pick shouldn’t be enough to acquire Harris.
Barnes is also a combo forward but is more-or-less an elite role player in the NBA. This season he’s averaging 14.3 points while converting 38.3 percent from the 3-point line. On a positive note, he does have championship experience which would help Philly.
Joseph also has championship experience and is a serviceable backup point guard. He’s a solid playmaker, defender, and has been ok from the 3-point line this season. Swartz pointed out this move is nothing more than a money saver so in terms of value coming back in this trade, it’s not the best for Philly.
Grade: C-
Wizards
This is the biggest trade in the Bleacher Report article that the Sixers made. It gets the 76ers at least one, if not two legit stars. However, it also the riskest deal that they made in Swartz’s article as well.
That’s a lot for Philly to give up, but they for sure get at least one superstar in Bradley Beal and possibly another in John Wall if he can return to help. This deal only works if the Washington Wizards decides to go into a full rebuild.
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If both guards are healthy, they could form a super team with Simmons and Embiid. Even if only Beal proves to be healthy and Wall can’t come back close to what he was beforehand, this trade is still worth it.
It’s clear that Harris and Horford were overpaid despite being very good players. Getting their bad deals off the books for one or two superstars is worth it. Smith hasn’t worked out in Philly, but he could in Washington on a rebuilding team.
The parts of this deal that hurts is giving up two first round picks, Matisse Thybulle, and Shake Milton. Milton and Thybulle have real potential to be very good players in the NBA, but yet again this a fair price to pay for Beal and potentially healthy Wall.
There are big risks and rewards in this deal but one that the Sixers front office should consider if it is presented to them.
Grade: A-
There some good trades in Swartz’s article and some not so good ones for the Philadelphia 76ers, but most of them should be considered by the team’s front office.