A Sixers Trade For Every Team In The NBA: The Southeast Division

Just ignore the Heat trade.

[photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images]

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 band was set to be lifted, Covid-192 struck. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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Last week, I debuted a new series in which I attempt to come up with a fair and realistic trade that the Sixers can make with every other team in the NBA. We started out by looking at the Southwest Division in the Western Conference, including three different Al Horford trades. Now, we travel to the Southeast Division. Let’s get to it!

Miami Heat

Sixers send: 34th pick, 36th pick, 2023 second-round pick

Heat send: 23rd pick

Oftentimes in sports, you see teams who refuse to deal with one another, at least in any major capacity. So when we get to teams like Miami who are in direct competition with the Sixers, don’t expect huge deals.

However, here is a framework that I think could actually make a ton of sense on both sides, for reasons that can only be explained by unfortunately bizarre CBA details. If you’ll indulge me…

First-round draft picks are assigned a specific contract on the rookie scale -- two years of guaranteed salary and then two years of team options -- amounting to four years of team control. Second-rounders, however, are not subject to any scale. Here’s why that matters: in order to sign a second-round pick to a contract that is not a one- or two-year minimum, a team needs to either use cap space or a salary cap exception. The Sixers having these two early seconds is nice, but they obviously will not have any cap space -- meaning their exceptions will be all they have to attract outside free agents of note. Miami, meanwhile, will have a significant amount of cap space this offseason -- perhaps upwards of $30 million -- in a season without many significant free agents. As a franchise sporting a stellar development system, they can add two quality rookies instead of one, begin to make up for their severe lack of future second-rounders, and still enter free agency with an enormous amount of financial flexibility.

Charlotte Hornets

Sixers send: Al Horford

Hornets send: Cody Zeller, 2021 second-round pick (via BKN)

The Hornets have cap space this offseason, and two large contracts that could be possible returns if they were willing to take on Horford -- Zeller and Terry Rozier. After thinking about Zeller-only trades, Rozier-only trades and deals featuring both, I elected to go this route. It likely does not help much in the current moment, as the Sixers would replace Horford with a worse version of a backup center and occasional power forward and still not have much financial flexibility this offseason. But beginning with the summer of 2021, the Sixers would have much more optionality as to how they construct their roster, with Zeller’s expiring contract off the books and Horford in Charlotte. This may be a bit of a step back, which will cause a trepidation that is understandable, but it would improve the team’s standing in the long run.

Atlanta Hawks

Sixers send: 49th pick

Hawks send: Brandon Goodwin

Just a few months ago, the Hawks were the best team to come up with Sixers trades for. They still have the same bevy of cap space lined up for this offseason and still have the urge to accelerate their timeline a bit, but a once-gaping hole at center is now occupied by Clint Capela. And honestly, that takes away pretty much any realistic trade between these two teams -- so I landed here. Goodwin would fill out the end of the Sixers roster as a guard with some scoring chops who became a semi-regular part of Atlanta’s rotation in the second half of the season. 

Orlando Magic

Sixers send: Josh Richardson, Mike Scott, 34th pick, New York’s 2021 second-round pick 

Magic send: Evan Fournier

This is a deal I advocated for a few weeks ago when speculating on potential deals involving Richardson. For the sake of consistency, I will provide the same analysis. Here’s what I wrote when discussing this option last month:

“This is probably the most cut-and-dry option: using a few valuable second-round picks to upgrade the shooting guard position, from Richardson to Fournier, who is a better shooter and a significantly more polished overall offensive player. He is a good scorer, and it would shine through on a Sixers team desperate for a player like him. During this past offseason, I wondered how often the Sixers would attack point guards who were often forced to defend the larger Richardson. The answer turned out to be, not that much. And when they did, it wasn’t incredibly successful. Now imagine Richardson, but three inches taller, stronger and much more skilled offensively. A Simmons-Fournier-Harris-Horford-Embiid lineup is far from flawless, but who does an opposing point guard defend against them? I’m genuinely not sure.”

Washington Wizards:

Sixers send: Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith

Wizards send: Ish Smith

Another Ish Smith return?! While his playing time next to Ben Simmons should be limited in any scenario in which he is once again a Sixer, he could be of real service to this roster, which is in desperate need for a creator, athlete, and tempo-setter of his nature. The Sixers actually shed money in this trade, as an added bonus. For Washington, flipping Ish for a prospect like Zhaire would likely be viewed as an organizational win, and something worth doing as they rebuild.