One potential trade from every Northwest Division team: Minnesota Timberwolves
This slide should have a warning on it because the trade I’m going to propose between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves will upset some Sixers fans in the worse way. With that being stated, let’s get right to the hypothetical trade between the 76ers and the Timberwolves.
To be clear, I believe that Philly should keep the duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid together, however, if they were to trade one, I believe Embiid should be the one traded and he could get the Sixers a lot in return for the franchise big man.
With that in mind, trading Embiid and Mike Scott for Karl-Anthony Towns, Jarret Culver, and the 1st overall pick in 2020 is probably one of the best trade packages the Sixers could get for Embiid.
Both Embiid and Towns are top-five centers in the league. Embiid is either the second or third best big man, whereas Towns is either fourth or fifth best. Below is a chart showing how each big man did this past season.
| Rk | Player | Season | MP | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joel Embiid | 2019-20 | 29.5 | .477 | 1.1 | 3.4 | .331 | .517 | .512 | .807 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 23.0 |
| 2 | Karl-Anthony Towns | 2019-20 | 33.9 | .508 | 3.3 | 7.9 | .412 | .586 | .600 | .796 | 10.8 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 26.5 |
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 9/18/2020.
Offensively they are close to the same level of skill with Towns being the better 3-point shooter and Embiid is the better interior scorer. Defensively is where the big dropoff. Towns isn’t a good defender and Embiid can be one of the best defenders in the NBA when engaged on that end.
Pairing a shooting big like Towns next to Simmons would open up the floor for him as Brook Lopez does for Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks. This trade would make even more sense if the 76ers hire Mike D’Antoni as their next head coach. However, swapping Towns for Embiid shouldn’t even get Philadelphia to the trade table.
Culver is a young athletic defender who has offensive upside. Last season, the rookie averaged 9.3 points and 3.4 rebounds. He struggled shooting from the field, but at 21-years-old he has time to improve.
If this hypothetical deal were to happen, then drafting point guard LaMelo Ball with the first pick would be the best choice for the Sixers as he would fill the Sixers need at point guard, assuming Simmons remains at the power forward position moving forward.
It would be a lie to write that the Timberwolves would be overpaying for Embiid just a little bit. It was tempting to have them include another first round pick in this deal, however because of Embiid’s injury history, I decided against this. However, Embiid would help the Timberwolves become more competitive in a loaded Western Conference because of his defense.
To be clear, the 76ers shouldn’t trade Simmons or Embiid, but if they decided to, this hypothetic trade could help them get close to equal value for their franchise big man. It would go a long way building around Simmons and any trade involving Embiid should have that as the top priority.