4 Non-Simmons Sixers Trade Deadline Questions
With recent news stories making it seem increasingly likely that Ben Simmons will remain a Sixer past the trade deadline, it becomes even more curious how the Sixers will approach the deadline in all other departments.
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With recent news stories making it seem increasingly likely that Ben Simmons will remain a Sixer past the trade deadline, it becomes even more curious how the Sixers will approach the deadline in all other departments.
Daryl Morey has openly said that the team has the mindset that they are capable of contending, and that it’s important to maximize their chances of winning this year. And yet, they will have to make any potential upgrades without giving up far and away its most valuable trade piece.
As such, they’ll have to get creative in terms of finding other ways to improve. Here in this piece, we’ll look at four relevant questions that the team has to consider ahead of the Feb. 10 deadline.
No. 1: Can you upgrade from Danny Green?
“Quick, trade Danny Green before anyone realizes he’s cooked” has been a thought that I’ve been quietly keeping to myself all season. Green will always have value on any NBA team, but he’s been beat up for much of the year, and his one-on-one defense has slipped to the point that I wouldn’t feel comfortable matching him up with any high-level scorer in the playoffs.
Additionally, it’s felt as if Green has been somewhat irrelevant to the Sixers’ success this season; the Sixers hardly feel like they miss him when he doesn’t play — they plugged Charlie Brown, Jr. into his minutes for a stretch, and they hardly missed a beat.
Also, with the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and the consistency of Seth Curry, it feels like the Sixers would be far better off with a wing in his place — the Sixers are extremely thin on 6’6”-6’8” players, and it’s hard to squeeze Green in with this backcourt.
This brings me to a hypothetical trade that I believe makes a ton of sense. Here goes:
Sixers get: Robert Covington
Cavs get: Danny Green, Dennis Smith, Jr.
Blazers get: Ricky Rubio, Charles Bassey, Sixers 2023 second round, Cavs 2022 second round pick, Cavs 2023 second round pick
Covington gives the Sixers a better positional fit than Green, along with a superior overall defensive impact. Green gives the Cavs a stable backcourt presence who automatically makes their team defense better. The Blazers get three second round picks and Charles Bassey in exchange for Covington’s expiring contract.
Something of this ilk — trading Green for a better player and better positional fit — I think would pay major dividends.
No. 2: Are there any Tobias takers out there?
Tobias Harris is playing better, but the fact that it’s less agonizing to watch him on a possession by possession basis doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be amazing to get off of his contract.
Thus far, it seems as if the only potential Tobias trades are those in which Simmons is included to help sweeten the deal. I’m not sure the Sixers even have the appetite to include the assets it would take to get off of Harris without involving Simmons, and that’s what makes any potential trade so hard.
They’d have to thread the needle with three things in any potential deal: 1) it can’t make them materially worse this year, and 2) they can’t include too many future assets. Getting a player of equal on-court value for Harris without mortgaging your future is near impossible.
There’s no chance the Cavs would entertain offers for Kevin Love at this point. A John Wall or Russell Westbrook trade makes no sense. The only max (or near max) contract players who are known to be on the trade market at the moment are C.J. McCollum and Jerami Grant.
McCollum doesn’t make much sense from a fit perspective, and would also likely require a couple of draft picks. Grant makes some sense, and would provide salary relief as well, but it would probably take 4-5 draft picks (a couple firsts and a couple seconds) in order to coax the Pistons into that type of deal, if you even could at all.
There are other potential deals out there if you get creative — a Pacers deal around Malcolm Brogdon or a Rockets deal around Eric Gordon could work, but again, those would require the Sixers giving up considerable draft capital.
Open up the Simmons discussions, and it’s much easier to find partners — the Kings, Hawks, and even the Spurs would make some sense. But for now, without Simmons included, I’d bet the house on Harris being a Sixer after the deadline.
No. 3: Can they add speed… anywhere?
It’s no secret that this team is riddled with slow moving and slow thinking players. Adding some sort of speed, in any sense of that word, would help this roster tremendously.
A Terrence Ross trade would be interesting — he would add some chaos and quick-trigger shooting — but it would require giving up Georges Niang in order to get him, due to salary purposes.
Caris LeVert would provide some of this dynamic, but his fit is iffy, and you’d have to give up Danny Green + assets in order to get him.
The options for adding speed outside of high-level players really aren’t great; you’re looking at trading for the Ish Smiths of the world. I do think that acquiring another fast, steady guard would help this team out, but it unfortunately seems as if they are beholden to their slow thinking, slow moving fate.
No. 4: How comfortable are you with Andre Drummond?
Drummond has been solid this season, likely better than I expected, but I still have the lingering concern of how he will look after the first round of the playoffs. We have seen time and time again what happens with big, lumbering centers in May and June. It would be a truly crushing blow if the Sixers bow out in the second round, once again because they can’t stay afloat with Embiid off the floor.
With that in mind, I’m wondering if it makes any sense to invest in another option at backup center, especially if they can get one for cheap. Would Mike Muscala for a second round pick interest anyone? How about Serge Ibaka for Furkan Korkmaz and a second round pick? Could Cody Zeller be had for next to nothing?
Any center who provides a change of pace and a bit more mobility and versatility would, I think, be of help. That player is not B-Ball Paul, and I don’t think it’s Charles Bassey yet. If you’re trying to make this roster a contender, I don’t think this question can be ignored.