Philadelphia 76ers Receive: F Harrison Barnes, G Caris LeVert, G/F Justin Holiday, MIN 2022 2nd Round Pick, MIN 2023 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to PHI)
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G/F Ben Simmons
Indiana Pacers Receive: G Malik Beasley, F Marvin Bagley III, MIN 2024 1st Round Pick (Top-5 Protected)
Sacramento Kings Receive: G/F Danny Green, F Taurean Prince, F Josh Okogie, MIN 2022 1st Round Pick (Top-3 Protected)
Let’s take a moment to look at this trade as a whole and really evaluate it from each team’s perspective before jumping to conclusions.
Joel Embiid cannot carry the 76ers on his own and we have seen that he winds up getting hurt when he tries to do so. Tobias Harris is a great complimentary player, but it is hard to imagine that he can be the No. 2 guy on a championship roster.
Tyrese Maxey, Seth Curry, Shake Milton and others are all solid secondary scorers, but right now, this roster does not look like a major playoff threat in the Eastern Conference compared to the likes of the Nets, Bucks, Heat and Bulls.
Finding some other high-level talents on the perimeter and on the wing could go a long way in opening up tons of space on the floor for the 76ers and both Harrison Barnes and Caris LeVert are high-level wings.
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Neither guy has been an All-Star before, but they can be relied upon to score in double-figures every single night and by adding these scoring threats on the wing, Joel Embiid will have more chances to play one-on-one, making him virtually unguardable in a way.
Justin Holiday is not a high-level player on the perimeter, but he has shot 38.3% from three-point range over the last three seasons in Indiana and is another three-point threat this team could have in their second-unit.
The Minnesota Timberwolves would get their guy in this trade in Ben Simmons, creating a very strong looking quartet in the Western Conference, and both the Pacers and Kings would make the necessary moves they need to make to go through a rebuild.
Not too long ago, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Pacers were on the verge of a rebuild and would be willing to listen to offers for all of their best players. The Kings have missed the playoffs each of the last 15 seasons and they really have not shown anything that makes us think they can end this playoff drought this season.
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Both teams have some major problems to still fix on their roster and they both benefit from the young pieces they get in this deal.
The Kings open up a lot of cap space heading into next offseason, giving them opportunities to build around De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, and the Pacers add two young scoring threats both on the wing and in the frontcourt in Malik Beasley and Marvin Bagley III, respectively.
Sacramento adds depth to attempt to become better and Indiana begins their youth movement, hitting the “reset” button to try and get back to becoming a playoff threat in the Eastern Conference.
This is a really crazy four-team trade with a lot of moving parts, but at the end of the day, each team does get valuable assets that help them try to reach their current goals.
