Sixers: Surprise Ben Simmons trade concepts

Surprise Ben Simmons trades: Sixers acquire Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton

Buddy Hield has long been rumored to be on the 76ers’ radar, but his contract makes him difficult to move with three years and over $60 million remaining. While his reputation as a volume shooter is well earned, he took a step back last season in efficiency on a team that had nonstop problems on the court and off.

Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton is coming off a phenomenal rookie season in which he averaged 13 points per game and shot over 40 percent from deep. It might be difficult for Sacramento to trade him, but they might not have much choice if they want to start moving toward playoff contention. The Kings have way too many small guards already, so getting rid of two for a 6-foot-10 lockdown defender in Ben Simmons makes sense.

This is a way for Sacramento to send De’Aaron Fox a message that they are serious about getting him help, and Simmons would cover up for a lot of their deficiencies. Namely, they just finished dead last in defensive rating and opponent eFG%, so their defense is in need of some serious help sooner rather than later. Fox is incredibly talented on offense, but he is a huge negative on defense. This would kill two birds with one stone, jettisoning two negative defenders and bringing back this year’s runner-up for DPOY. Right now Sacramento has no one to put on a team’s best scorer, a role which Simmons is more than qualified for.

For Philadelphia, this is probably a huge win for them. In Hield they get another high volume shooter who can expect his efficiency to go up with the wide open looks Embiid will provide. This trade means they let Danny Green go in free agency, or choose to re-sign him and move Seth Curry to the bench. Either way, Embiid is going to be surrounded by more elite shooters than any other point in his career. Tyrese Haliburton is an excellent creator and ball handler who would add a ton of juice to Philly’s offense.

This would create some issues with Philly’s defense, particularly having such a weak backcourt, but Embiid is a solid defensive centerpiece and they still have Matisse Thybulle able to come off the bench and chase talented scorers.