The Philadelphia 76ers are the best example of what it means to be predictably unpredictable. The franchise’s decision-makers have long been known for their bold endeavors — so much so that everyone already expects them to launch a Hail Mary here and there when the need arises. And after the kind of season they just posted, one can only imagine how much more aggressive they could be when it comes to stepping on the gas.
Armed with prized assets — and admittedly murky ones, if at all deemable as things of actual value — the 76ers have what it takes to flip their fortunes ahead of next season. Aside from the third overall pick in this year’s highly anticipated NBA Draft, Philly packs more than sufficient ammo to lull a team into making a big swap.
Determining the parts to be moved, however, is a different story. While the squad probably deserves the benefit of doubt after all the injuries they were forced to digest this season, compressing things to fit within a single-season narrative just won’t do when it comes to the 76ers which, despite a long streak of relative success, has never even sniffed meaningful victory.
Can we now call them desperate? Well, if they do this Joel Embiid trade, you might even have to call them brutal.
76ers launch a Hail Mary with this desperate Joel Embiid trade idea
One team touting a similar degree of desperation, albeit from a sense of close proximity to their goal, is New York. While they arguably disappointed many by losing in a series where most people expected them to come out as winners, they are legitimately a hair away from being a championship contender.
There seems to be some pent-up frustration within the team due to Karl-Anthony Towns, much to the vindication of fans. Knowing the Knicks, that’s probably a trade brewing from afar, right?
In theory, the 76ers and Knicks could actually ponder on the thought of a swap involving Embiid and Towns. The former, despite his bloody red flags health-wise, has a more holistic game than the one-dimensional Towns. On the flip side, the latter has the kind of availability that should theoretically be highly sought-after by a team in constant need of star power like Philly.
Imagine this happens — which it probably won’t. But if it does (and we’re playing games with kismet with this one), Embiid will probably never forgive the 76ers. He is not one touting any sort of amity with Towns, and sending him to the Big Apple to be a Robin could be a huge hit to his pride as an MVP-caliber player when healthy.
Thing is, we’ve seen weirder things happen. Sometimes, Luka Doncic gets traded for an aging and injury-prone All-Star just months after leading his team to the Finals. Or Quentin Grimes goes to Philly for a bag of chips. But a Joel Embiid-Karl-Anthony Towns swap would definitely make the 76ers catch a lot of fire.
For now, the Philadelphia 76ers have bigger fish to fry. But if the push comes to a shove, expect the unexpected from this bunch — because it is expected.