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.