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

Sixers Adam is dying to trade Josh Richardson.

[photo: Mitchell Leff/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-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.

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Folks, I regret (am pleased) to inform you that your favorite writer (me) is back at it (coming up with fake trades until the NBA comes back) again. This week, we stick in the Atlantic Division and make some deals with rivals.

As always, I’ll get the cut-and-dry trades out of the way early on, and we’ll progress with increasingly significant deals. 

Boston Celtics

Sixers send: 36th pick, 2021 second-round pick via New York

Celtics send: 30th pick

In the Southeast Division edition of this series, I explained why late first-rounders are much more valuable for the Sixers than early second-rounders, beyond simply being higher draft picks.

“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.”

The Celtics are in a similar boat as the Sixers, so perhaps they say no to such a deal. But, they already own two first-round picks in a year with what is widely-regarded as a weak draft class. They could very well want to back out of one of their three first-rounders, and adding a premium 2021 second-rounder would be a nice incentive for them to do so.

New York Knicks

Sixers send: Mike Scott, 2023 second-round pick (most favorable of Atlanta, Charlotte and Brooklyn)

Knicks send: Reggie Bullock

Bullock is another role player I have long hoped would don a Sixers uniform at some point, a high-quality movement shooter who could help the Sixers regain a part of their offense that died with the departures of JJ Redick, Marco Belinelli and Landry Shamet. He’s bigger than all of those guys, though; while far from a stopper he holds up defensively. His issue has become health: Bullock has been unable to consistently stay on the court for the last few years, likely making him an easier acquisition for the Sixers than he would have been last summer or even this past winter.

Brooklyn Nets

Sixers send: Josh Richardson, Zhaire Smith

Nets send: Spencer Dinwiddie

I’ve written about this framework several times now (and discussed it with Spike and Mike on the pod), but here goes once again:

With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant returning next season, Dinwiddie’s playmaking becomes a luxury for the Nets, while stout defenders remain a need. It’s unclear whether or not Brooklyn would pull the trigger, as Dinwiddie is a valued member of their locker room and in many ways a symbol of their organizational success. But these two are on nearly identical contracts (both will likely be free agents next offseason), and a change of scenery would put each one in a situation where their strengths are needed and their weaknesses are masked.

Toronto Raptors

Sixers send: Zhaire Smith, Mike Scott, Norvel Pelle, 2020 first-round pick via Oklahoma City

Raptors send: Norman Powell

A first-round pick for Norman Powell?! Actually, yes.

Allow me to fill you in on how good Powell has been this season: he’s averaging 16.4 points per game playing in a major offensive role for a very good team, and has done so at dare I say elite efficiency: 62.9 percent true shooting, including just about 40 percent from beyond the arc and nearly 60 percent on two-point attempts. He is a legitimate offensive weapon, and with Toronto having multiple key free agents on the market this summer and hopes of chasing Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021, it is far from unrealistic that they look to move Powell while he is at his peak value and gain some financial flexibility.