Grade the Trade: 76ers steal highly coveted forward in proposed bargain swap

Why the 76ers should trade for Dorian Finney-Smith

The 76ers have one of the most lethal threesomes in all of basketball with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and now, Paul George. Even better, all of them have skill sets that highly complement each other, forming a formidable trio that is not only oozing with talent, but also with synergy.

Surrounding those three with players in well-defined roles will be mandatory. Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the league’s better three-and-D forwards for quite a while now, is exactly the kind of the player they need to smoothen the edges both offensively and defensively. Caleb Martin alone won’t cut it, and Kelly Oubre Jr. is more of a featured role player than one aiming to be complementary.

Finney-Smith offers a ton of defensive malleability, and his ranginess fits perfectly within Nick Nurse’s mercurial schemes on defense. Offensively, he’s pretty versatile position-wise, capable of playing both forward positions while also being comfortable when being trotted out as a small-ball center in spurts.

Philly cannot find a better high-end role player at this point in the offseason, and given the proposed price of a protected firt-round pick and a pretty replaceable fringe role player, the 76ers should instantly pounce should the Nets show warmth to a deal of this sorts.