Does this deal make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers?
The Philadelphia 76ers are willing to move on from Ben Simmons and they have been making calls left and right to try and do so, but they have not found a trade partner willing to meet their price for him. Getting another All-NBA-like talent for Ben Simmons seems rather “wishful thinking” at this point for Philadelphia and they have to realize that they are not going to get this in return from another team.
Settling for Buddy Hield, Goran Dragic and a ton of draft picks could be the way to go for Philly and this deal could make sense for them for a couple of reasons. Both Hield and Dragic can contribute right away, which is advantageous to the 76ers, but if they do not make the NBA Finals during the 2021-22 season, they would not be tied down to Dragic long-term.
He is in the final year of his contract, giving the 76ers the capability to have some money to play around with during the 2022 NBA offseason in attempts to add that “third key talent” they need. Aside from getting two guys who can help immediately and Dragic being in the final year of his contract, the 76ers would also be getting valuable draft picks.
The reason these picks would be of value to Philadelphia is not because they could use them to draft high-level, young talents, but they would finally have the draft assets they need to go after another All-Star like Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard in trade talks next offseason or at the NBA trade deadline during the 2021-22 season.
READ MORE: Predictions for NBA Trade Rumors: Simmons, Lillard, Hield, Ingles, Siakam
By making this trade with the Kings and Raptors, Philadelphia would have a total of 10 draft picks through the next four drafts and they would have a total of five first-round picks over the next three years to pair with guys like Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle and others in potential trades.
In terms of trying to win right now, as well as preparing for potential big trades in the future, this deal gives the Philadelphia 76ers everything they should want and everything they need in a deal to get rid of Ben Simmons. Of course they would like to add Beal or Lillard right now at the expense of Simmons, but neither of these two guys are available and honestly, no team is going to be willing to trade their best player for a guy like Ben Simmons right now.
READ MORE: Predictions for NBA Trade Rumors: Simmons, Lillard, Hield, Ingles, Siakam
Getting Goran Dragic, Buddy Hield and draft picks is the best deal the 76ers are going to get at this point in the offseason (in this case December due to Korkmaz’s contract), which is why they would be smart to actually think this deal through instead of immediately declining it since they are not getting that “All-Star talent” they want for Simmons.
