Philadelphia 76ers should have Bradley Beal as prime target

The Philadelphia 76ers will be making calls leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline. They have an All-Star level player in Ben Simmons who has yet to play a single game this season and he doesn’t appear to be in the club’s future.

The Sixers will be shopping Simmons for an All-Star level player and one who help the Sixers compete for a title while Joel Embiid is still in his prime. The one player that the Sixers should have at the top of their wish list is Bradley Beal.

Beal fits next to Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as a shooting guard who can create for others and himself. Despite having a down year, Beal is still averaging 23.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from the 3-point line. He’s a career 37.3 percent shooter from deep so don’t worry about his 3-point shooting this year.

The Philadelphia 76ers should have Beal at the top of their wish list.

Beal had been connected to Simmons during this offseason, but there was no real traction at that point. The Washington Wizards reshaped the roster around Beal and it seemed the clubs’ front office wanted to see how the team would perform this season.

It worked to begin the year as Washington had a 10-3 record and they were looking like a legit playoff team. However, the Wizards have had an 8-14 record since the hot start. That hot start wasn’t sustainable, but this type of fall-off since then has been disappointing.

There’s a chance for the eighth place Wiz to turn things around, especially Rui Hachimura’s season debut on the horizon. However, it should be noted the Eastern Conference is very deep this season and there’s also a real chance this team can slip out of the play-in race.

Beal could get fed up with the Wizards’ mediocrity and with him having a player option for this offseason, he could walk in free agency for nothing. Washington’s front office has to be worried about that considering that Beal choose not to sign a contract extension.

When the trade deadline comes near, the Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has to prey on those fears in any trades talks he has the Wiz’s top executive Tommy Sheppard. It’s better to have a young All-Star in Simmons plus picks and/or young players than have Beal leave in free agency for nothing.

If the Wiz trade for Simmons they would already have most of the pieces around him to make the team successful. The only thing that would have to change is the type of center they surround Simmons with. Daniel Gafford and Montrezl Harrell are both interior forces on offense, but that doesn’t work for Simmons. They would have to trade for a stretch big, but that’s about it. Otherwise, this team has enough shooters and playmakers to help maximize Simmons’ skills.

Beal helps make the Philadelphia 76ers a contender with his ability to score anywhere on the court and Simmons could still keep the Wizards a competitive team without having to go through a rebuild.