Month: January 2020

Sixers Trade Deadline Guide

Posted on by jcrosby1315

As the NBA Trade Deadline approaches, plenty of rumors have been floating around about the Philadelphia 76ers. There has been a lot of discussion about “fit” for the Sixers. Whether Joel Embiid, Al Horford, and Ben Simmons can fit together? Do the Sixers have enough perimeter shooting? Do they have enough shot-creating or play- making? All of the questions above have been floating around. Shoot, I have been asking those same questions! The Sixers will be without Joel Embiid for at least 4-6 weeks (my guesstimated timeline) with a hand injury, so we will see what this team will look like with Ben running the show but they need some help! I am not sure if there will be a major trade before the deadline, but here are my opinions on who is “most tradedable” and some possible trades that Elton Brand could make:

UNTOUCHABLE: Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris

Embiid and Simmons are franchise cornerstones and as much as the national media and NBA Twitter wants either of them to be traded, it will not happen this season. Tobias Harris’ deal is what makes him untouchable, 5 years, $180 million is a tough contract to trade in the first year. He’s had a pretty good season in my opinion but needs to be more consistent as the second scoring threat.

UNLIKELY TO BE TRADED: Al Horford, Josh Richardson, Matisse Thybulle, James Ennis

Sixers signed Al Horford as Embiid insurance and it seems with Embiid out for an extended period, they made the right signing. I don’t see Elton trading Horford unless its a big deal that they could not pass up, i.e Jrue Holiday, Bradley Beal. Josh Richardson is a budding 2- way guard who will only get better. He’s cheap at $10 million a year and the Sixers only other main perimeter creator. I can only see him being thrown in a large trade but very unlikely. Matisse is really really good on defense and becoming a better 3-point shooter. Teams will surely ask for him in trade deals, but I KNOW Elton is a smart enough GM not to include him. James Ennis has a no trade clause and one of the Sixers best bench guys. He can’t be traded unless he wanted to.

PACK YOUR BAGS: Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, Kyle O’Quinn, Raul Neto, Shake Milton

I’m sorry, but all these guys mentioned above will be traded if the deal right. Let’s start with Mike Scott. I’m sorry to the Mike Scott Hive, he’s one of my favorite Sixers. He brings toughness, attitude, and shooting but that’s the thing, he hasn’t brought much shooting this year. He’s actually been terrible this year as one of our shooters, shooting only 34% from 3 over the season thus far. I hope he isn’t traded because I am also a member of the Hive, but we expect more from Mike Scott. The Sixers would have hoped Zhaire could be contributing by now but he has not. He’s been playing with the Sixers’ G-League affiliate most of the year still adjusting to NBA style basketball. A lot of teams were high on him in the 2018 NBA draft, so I expect him to be in majority of the deals. Jonah Bolden, Kyle O’Quinn (I’m confused on why he doesn’t play), and Raul Neto will all be included in any outgoing trade packages.

SKILL SET NEEDED BUT COULD BE SALARY FILLERS: Furkan Korkmaz, Trey Burke

Korkmaz is the only pure shooter the Sixers have currently, and I don’t expect him to included on any deals. He’s gotten better on defense as well, so I think he will be here past the deadline. Trey Burke can be a spark off the bench, and one of the few players on this team that can create for themselves in the Isolation or PNR. He’s penciled in as Ben’s back up right now and has shown he can play with him. Trey won’t be traded unless they are getting a shot creator back and they need his salary in the trade.

Take a look at some trade possibilities below:

Sixers trade Al Horford, Josh Richardson, Mike Scott, OKC 2020 1st round pick, 2020 NYK 2nd round pick, 2020 ATL 2nd round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday and Derrick Favors

This is the one of two trades that I could see Al Horford and J-Rich moved in. Getting Jrue would be amazing, as he could assume ball handling duties for Ben in the 4th quarters and actually initiate offense for himself and others. Derrick Favors would just be Embiid’s back up and a major downgrade from Al Horford playing PF or C.

Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, Raul Neto, OKC 2020 1st round pick, NYK 2020 2nd round pick, ATL 2020 2nd round pick to the Detroit Pistons for Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard

This would be ideal for the Sixers, receiving much needed ball handling, shot creating, and shooting back. Derrick Rose would be aggressive on offense with the second unit and could play crunch time 4th quarter mins in certain situations. Kennard would be the knock down shooter the Sixers desperately need to pair with Korkmaz. He can also create for himself and run JJ Reddick action types with Embiid.

Sixers trade Zhaire Smith, Kyle O’Quinn, ATL 2020 2nd round pick to the Denver Nuggets for Malik Beasley, DEN 2020 2nd round pick

Malik Beasley is averaging 6.9 PPG in 16 MPG but has recently fell out of Denver’s rotation. He is shooting 39% from behind the arc and has the skills to take people off the dribble. He would be an upgrade and could play alongside Simmons because of his shooting ability. He has some defensive issues that could be a problem but could easily come to Philly and average 10 PPG off of the bench.

Sixers trade Al Horford, Zhaire Smith, Raul Neto, 2020 OKC 1st round pick, 2020 NYK 2nd round pick, 2020 ATL 2nd round pick to the OKC Thunder for Chris Paul

Sooooooo…initially I hated this trade, but after reading about this trade a few times, I’ve been convinced that this could work. Chris Paul is a HOF point guard but he’s been known to be a bad locker room guy. The Sixers’ two young stars don’t need any more negativity in the locker room. After watching CP3 these last few weeks, I’m convinced his ball handling and PNR prowess would help the squad tremendously. Also, in the 4th quarter he could handle the ball and initiate offense for everyone. He shares the ball with two other guards in OKC, so he wouldn’t mind deferring to Ben in early situations here.

Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Robert Covington

RoCo! Many hated to see RoCo go in the Jimmy Butler trade in November 2018. This trade would bring him back on a cheap deal and allow the Sixers to add another “3 and D” wing. He helps with spacing but doesn’t help in shot creation. Many contenders will be in the running for Cov’s services and it will likely take more than the package you see here to trade for him.

Sixers trade Mike Scott, Zhaire Smith, 2020 OKC 1st round pick to the Sacromento Kings for Bogdan Bogdanovic

This trade would give the Sixers what they need without giving up too much. It allows them to have other trade chips in their pocket if they are buying close to the trade deadline. He’s shooting 38% from three and averages almost 4 APG. He is shooting 45% on pull up jumpers and 39% on catch and shoot shots. He could be an asset in the PNR and possibly put the ball in his hands in crunch time. If you get rid of Mike Scott, you could go after Jeff Green as a free agent since he was waived by the Jazz.

Sixers trade Mike Scott, Jonah Bolden, Zhaire Smith, Kyle O’Quinn to the Washington Wizards for Davis Bertans, Isaiah Thomas, 2020 WAS 2nd round pick.

Sixers have been linked to Davis Bertans a lot recently and if the Sixers can get him, expect the Wizards to up the price. Some combination of this trade with or without Isaiah Thomas would work. Bertans would be the lights out shooter the Sixers need and could run the same action they ran with JJ Redick and Joel Embiid. Thomas would give the Sixers a back up point guard with experience that can get some buckets. Thomas would be a defensive liability and would have to play with a good group of defenders to make up for his size.

Overall, the trades above are all scenarios that could help the Sixers right away. Elton Brand will make a move in the near future and hasn’t been afraid to shake things up. I look forward to seeing what Elton has up his sleeve.

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2020 Wish List/Resolutions for the 76ers

Posted on by jcrosby1315

The Sixers ended 2019 with a horrible road loss in Indiana on New Year’s eve ushering in 2020 with a 23-13 record. As fans, we expect so much more from this squad, but with so many new faces, it has taken longer to gel than the fans thought. Brett Brown has said that he didn’t expect the Sixers to develop more cohesion until Christmas but, on some nights we have seen what looks like the best team in the East, while other nights this team STRUGGLES. I still believe this team will get it together one way or another, but until then, here is a 2020 Wishlist of hopes for the Philadelphia 76ers:

1. Exert more effort against opponents on the road

The Sixers are 7-11 on the road and tend to play down to competition in the first three quarters, until they decide to turn it up in the 4th and almost always, it is too little too late. Sixers have road losses in DC, OKC, Orlando (2X), Phoenix, and Brooklyn. All those games should have been wins. Joel Embiid and company need to find some inspiration against lesser teams on the road or they will find themselves stuck in a precarious situation where they are continually ranked in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.

2. Tobias Harris improving consistency

When Tobias inked the 180-million-dollar contract in June 2019, people wondered if he “would be able to live up to being a max contract player”. Tobias started the season a little rough with a dreadful 0-23 from “3-point Land” streak. He has since become more reliable as a scorer and increased his PPG to just under 20 PPG. Since mid-November Tobias has low key played at an All-Star level with three 30 point games. All we wish for him is to attack every game and get more shot attempts. Nine shot attempts in Indy on 12/31 is not acceptable.

3. Joel Embiid to stop “Saving himself” for the Playoffs

I get it, we need a healthy “JoJo” for April and May but it’s obvious he only gets up for certain match ups. Yes, he’s had bad luck with injury in the last two playoff runs, but if he doesn’t play his best, and the Sixers lose games they shouldn’t, they could find themselves in the 4/5 spot. And as a result, this could land the Sixers in a matchup against the Bucks in the second round instead of the ECF. We also know that Embiid could be a Top 3 player in this league if he gives maximum effort on a nightly basis.

4. Better Spacing

Spacing in the NBA determines how well an offense works. Spacing determines how teams get open shots in the half court and you usually need players to space the floor to allow one on one post play, pick and roll or isolation. We all knew this lineup had the potential to be the best defensive team in the league. We got a surprise with how good defensively Matisse Thybulle is and how good he has been from 3-point range. As we sit here at the beginning of January, the spacing issue hasn’t been figured out. Ben, Al, and JoJo all like to be in the paint. Tobias and Josh like PNR ,which is something Brett is just starting to run. For this to work, they need better spacing which includes having “shooters” on the court at all times. Furkan Korkmaz has been a surprise, but he’s not enough with Mike Scott having a down year. My two ideas for space creation would be either changing the starting lineup to something like Ben, J-Rich, Furkan or Thybulle, Tobias, and Joel. Horford would be a glorified 6th man and could get starts when Embiid doesn’t play. He could also play the 4th quarter clutch minutes as well but it’s just not working. Asking Al to shoot seven 3’s a game is a bit much. The other idea would be to make a trade for some shooters. If that occurs, you may have to trade Horford, Zhaire Smith, Jonah Bolden, or Mike Scott (Sorry to the hive). A combo of any of those players would have to be traded for some shooting. According to the insiders, Sixers have their eyes on David Bertans (Wizards), Bogdan Bogdanovic/ Buddy Hield (Kings), Josh Hart/ JJ Reddick (Pelicans). They need to do something to fix the spacing issue and it’s on the coaches and Front Office. P.S. Elton Brand won’t trade Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid, so you guys can stop wishing for one of them to go to build around the other.

5. Fans accepting that Ben Simmons will not shoot

As much as we all want Ben Simmons to shoot jumpers and 3’s, it’s clearly not going to happen. After all the summer workout videos, we have only watched Ben take two real 3’s in the half court this year (2/2). He may have taken a total of only 10 jumpers thus far this season. He’s not going to shoot them for whatever reason and the Sixers are going to live with it. Brett wants him to shoot, and teammates want him to shoot… but he just won’t. At this point, we need to accept Ben for the player he is and give him credit for what he does well now. He is having an all-defensive first team type season and is a phenomenal passer and rebounder.

6. Brett Brown to figure this thing out

It is evident that Elton Brand is loyal to Brett and wants him to see the fruits of the years of the “Process”, but if they can’t advance past the second round this year, he will be fired. If Colangelo was still the GM, he would have worked with the Owners to fire Brett, and Jay Wright would have been the Sixers coach. Brett needs to figure it out, forget the egos, and do what is best for the team. If he does not, he could find himself unemployed after this season. It doesn’t help that after every loss, #sixertwitter is filled with “Fire Brett Brown” tweets.

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