Four Sixers Targets After Missing Out On James Harden
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Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, and when that ban was set to be lifted, Covid-19 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Well, the last few days have been quite the roller coaster. You know the story already: the Sixers missed out on James Harden, who is now on his way to Brooklyn to form a superteam with Kevin Durant and (maybe?) Kyrie Irving.
A Harden trade was this team’s Get Out of Jail Free card. They had a chance to go from a team severely lacking perimeter creation to one starring one of the best playmakers of all time.
So we’re back to square one. The Sixers are a good team with a potentially fatal flaw. In my view, this team will not become a legitimate championship contender for as long as they go without finding the creator they need to put the final puzzle pieces together.
Where do we go from here? The Sixers can sit on their hands, embrace the Simmons + Embiid + shooting formula that has a long track record of success, and ride it out. But they also could pivot towards other options as far as playmaking goes.Â
No, they won’t be able to get anyone close to as good as Harden. But there are some (risky) options out there. Let’s identify some of them:
Bradley Beal
The most commonly-suggested alternative to Harden, Beal is a phenomenal offensive player, something the Sixers just recently were witness to. After averaging 30.5 points per game last season, Beal has been on a scorching run so far in this season, scoring a Harden-esque 34.9 points per game.
Beal is clearly the best option among anyone who could possibly become available. But it’s not so simple. First of all, who is to say the Wizards want to move someone who recently signed a contract extension? And second of all, what is the price for Beal?
Given what the Sixers do and don’t have, Beal is almost certainly not attainable unless the Sixers are willing to trade Ben Simmons. That becomes a slippery slope. I’d do the swap in order to add Beal and his offensive arsenal, but is he really good enough to be the guy offensively on a championship team? To me, that is still an unknown.
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo was surprisingly dealt to Houston in the Harden deal. For a player of his caliber to be traded twice in one year is extremely rare. But hear me out: Oladipo makes only $20 million, making him fairly easy to acquire from a salary perspective (Danny Green and any other player gets you there). He has a shaky injury history, one that makes him tough to be reliant on. He’s been at the center of many confusing whispers about possible future destinations. Because he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, those whispers become cause for major concern.Â
Despite the many concerns, most of which are entirely valid, this is the route I would go if the door opens. At this point, the Sixers need to be ready to take risks in order to fill their biggest hole.
Zach LaVine
Here’s another name that comes up a lot. In theory, LaVine makes perfect sense here: he is a great scorer whose skill development has been wildly impressive.Â
I stand firmly against this proposition, though -- while LaVine’s prowess as a scorer is undeniable, so is his propensity to make frequent gaffes. LaVine is a brutal decision-maker who I am hugely skeptical of when it comes to having a major role on a hopeful contender.
Lou Williams
A homecoming! We all know very well how reliable an option Lou is to give you an offensive spark. Given his expiring contract and rapidly decreasing role with the Clippers (he’s now averaging less than 20 minutes per game), it seems pretty realistic that he will be available.
The biggest concern here is that Lou’s game has never translated well to the playoffs. That is why I wouldn’t trade for him if you’re only taking one shot at adding a creator. Lou would help a ton, but his unreliability in high leverage situations makes me hesitant.