A few days after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Sixers out for NBA Superstar James Harden, the Sixers lost on the road to the Memphis Grizzilies to fall to (9-5). The Sixers were sloppy with 22 turnovers and lost their third game of the season without Joel Embiid. The debate since Wednesday has been if the Sixers made the right decision to not trade for Harden. James Harden was traded in a four-team deal that included the Rockets, Cavs, Pacers and Nets. The Nets traded Caris Lavert, Jarett Allen, 4 first round draft picks, and 4 pick swaps to get James Harden. Although Allen was traded to Cleveland and Lavert was flipped from Houston to Indiana for Victor Oladipo, the Nets sold the farm to get the 2018 NBA MVP. Since Harden requested a trade to the Nets or the 76ers, the Sixers were the “favorites” to obtain him due to them having the best trade package between any of his suitors. The reason the Sixers were deemed the favorite is because of one man, Ben Simmons. Simmons is a 2-time All Star, All NBA player, a defensive stalwart and is a better foundational piece than any team trying to trade for Harden could offer. Trade talks started to heat up Wednesday afternoon and all signs pointed to James Harden being traded to the Sixers, and poof he was traded to the Nets. There are discrepancies regarding the package that was offered to Houston and what Houston requested. Sources say that Daryl Morey offered a package of Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle and 2 first-round picks. It is rumored that the Rockets wanted Simmons, Thybulle, standout rookie Tyrese Maxey, and 3 first-round picks. Ultimately, Morey and the Sixers felt that they didn’t want to mortgage their future by giving up that combination of players and picks.  

With Joel Embiid playing at a MVP level, the time is now to get all the players around him to succeed. With Simmons having a slow start to the year, it seems like this was the best opportunity to pair Joel with someone who fits better and can score at will just like him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Ben Simmons fan, but he hasn’t been aggressive and he’s been turning the ball over a ton. He’s averaging 12.4 ppg (career low), 8.6 rpg, and 7.9 apg. I believe a lot of fans can agree that including Maxey in the deal was a no go! So far, he’s shown so much upside and contributes to a team that needs ball handlers and shot creators. After watching Ben’s recent performances, I can’t help but think that making the move for Harden would have been the right move but selling the farm to get him, not so much. 

With all that said, I thought of some moves the Sixers could make to help them seriously contend for a title this year. Some moves are more realistic than others but all have a common theme of surrounding Embiid with a player who is a better fit:

Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal has been a topic of Sixers Twitter for weeks now. A lot of fans prefer Beal over Harden because he’s younger and could be paired with Embiid much longer than Harden can. Beal is currently leading the NBA in scoring and scored 60 points against the Sixers earlier this year. The Wizards haven’t given any indication that they are looking to trade their franchise player but their experiment pairing him with Russell Westbrook has not worked out. Some may say the Wizards wouldn’t make this trade because of Russell Westbrook but I don’t think the Wizards would let a 32-year-old Russell Westbrook control their future. Simmons could go to Washington and be a franchise cornerstone for a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2017-2018 season. 

Zach Lavine

Zach Lavine clearly wants out of Chicago. After their recent loss where the Bulls gave up a 20 point lead, Lavine let the media know he was not happy. It almost sounded like a distress signal, begging for another team to come bail him out of his situation. There were rumors before the NBA Draft that Lavine/Sixers trade was going to happen but it didn’t come to fruition. Lavine seems like a talented guy putting up big numbers on a bad team but it would be interesting to see how he would do on a contender. Lavine isn’t the best decision maker and the Sixers already have trouble with turnovers but, pairing him with Embiid could be deadly. There are many different versions of this trade but I though this one was the most realistic. 

D’Angelo Russell

Russell had his breakout All Star year a few years ago and hasn’t had a stable home since. He was traded to Golden State in the sign and trade for Kevin Durant before last season and then traded at the trade deadline to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His pairing with Karl Anthony Towns was supposed to set them up for the future but so far the duo hasn’t been as formidable as many thought they could be. Enter Ben Simmons. Trading Simmons for Russell could make sense for both teams. KAT and Simmons are good friends and KAT has no problem standing around the perimeter shooting 3-pointers. Russell is not a game changer like a Harden or Beal but his fit and responsibilities here could elevate his game. Embiid would benefit the most as he would have the spacing he needs and a ball handler and shot creator. In my opinion, this wouldn’t cost the Sixers nearly as much as it would cost to get Beal and what the price was for Harden.

Kyle Lowry

Bring Kyle home! The Raptors are 4-8 and struggling. Why not send Kyle to a legit contender like the Sixers? Lowry could come to Philadelphia and be that reliable ball handler and shot creator they need. The Sixers would be losing Danny Green and Mike Scott but both are on expiring contracts, which could help Toronto in free agency next year. I know this trade is the least likely to happen but to add a player like Lowry to the roster without giving up any of your main pieces would make this team a bonafide contender.

Ultimately, the 76ers could decide to let Doc work with Ben Simmons and the entire group to see what he can get out of this current roster. However, Daryl Morey was hired for a reason, which is to get this roster to a place where it could win a title. Can the Sixers win a title now as currently constructed? Sure. Would a major piece like Bradley Beal make them true favorites? Absolutely!

The 76ers’ regular season kicked off a little over a week ago against the Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook led Washington Wizards on 12/23/2020. Once the game started, you could see the talent and spacing around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons had made a difference but there was still some comfortability issues within the offense. It was an up and down game with the Sixers leading by double digits and then having to come back from double digits in the fourth quarter to win. During that game, Joel’s dominance was evident as he made it clear from tip-off that he was the best player on the floor. A little side note from this game: Russell Westbrook seems like he is really good and tallied one of his four triple doubles this season. It also seems that at this point of his career he doesn’t affect winning like you would think. Thus far the Wizards are 1-5 on the season and won the game Westbrook did not suit up in.

The Sixers followed up with a nice blow out victory against the New York Knicks where Embiid showed his dominance once again. An early storyline this year has been how bad Tobias Harris has looked in the first two games. He looked like he just was very unsure of where to be and what to do within this new offense. I had the same feeling initially with Danny Green and Seth Curry and it showed in the bad loss they had against the Cavs when Embiid did not play.

When Embiid returned to the lineup, the Sixers regrouped and got a quality comeback win at home against the Raptors and two blowout wins against the Magic and Hornets. Since the game against the Cavs, Tobias has looked more decisive on offense and it has made such a huge difference when he is scoring efficiently. Seth Curry has looked more comfortable as of late as well. In his last three games, he has scored 17, 21, and 21 respectively. His chemistry with Joel Embiid continues to improve and will open a lot more things up for the entire Sixers offense.

Overall, the Sixers have been truly lead by their defense and are #1 in Defensive Efficiency in the NBA as of 1/3/2021. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid both have played like DPOYs in their own right. Simmons has locked down some of the best offensive players on the perimeter thus far this season. He was able to lock up Bradley Beal and Pascal Siakam, taking them out of the offense and contesting every shot they put up. The offense and chemistry will continue to improve and it could help propel the Sixers into being one of the best teams in the league.

Quick Notes and Observations:

• Joel Embiid is playing like his old self and like a MVP candidate. He’s averaging 25 ppg, 12.6 rpg, and 2.8 apg. So far in 5 games, he has looked much better passing out of the double teams and we all hope that trend continues.
• Doc Rivers’ substitution patten is much different than what fans may be used to. With Brett Brown as Head Coach, we saw a lot more staggering of minutes with the starters playing with the bench. With Doc, he usually substitutes like hockey and runs with all bench lineups. It will be interesting to see how the rotation develops.
• If Tobias continues to play how he has the last few games, he can really help take this team where they want to go. He’ll never be worth the 180 million dollar contract he signed but if he can average about 20 a night with efficient 3-point shooting, he can make a huge difference.
• The James Harden cloud will be over this team all season and expect Sixers Twitter to be mock trading for James Harden after every loss they take until the trade deadline.
• I like Tyrese Maxey. #thatisall

Sixers are in action this week starting with the Hornets on Monday night at 7PM. #TrustTheProcess