Camden wrote:What assets are Philadelphia getting in return that you think Portland would prefer for Damian Lillard? What assets are Philadelphia getting in return that you think Washington would prefer for Bradley Beal?
That's what I keep coming back to. Those teams are not going to want a Fred VanVleet, Harrison Barnes, or Buddy Hield in return. But they might want Malik Beasley and a bundle of first-round picks. Or Jaden McDaniels and first-round picks. At least that gets you further in those future trade talks. That's what I think needs to be weighed more heavily than the Sixers trying to win a championship with a less talented team than the one they just assembled with Ben Simmons.
Cam -
I don't disagree with you on what would be a more attractive future trade package for Beal or Lillard. My point is that Morey can't count on Beal or Lillard being available in a year. That's a roll of the dice. Moreover, in the meantime, he would essentially be taking a pass on this upcoming season and I don't think Morey is or should be willing to do that given what will likely be Embiid's relative short shelf life. Morey might be comfortable with the strategy you're contemplating, but I don't think he'll go that route. Therefore, I still see him making a deal for the best win-now players he can get for Simmons. Reportedly, he's not interested in Russell, but that could change if he can't get Fox or Haliburton. He reportedly turned down Indiana's Brogdan offer, but it looks like that would be a good deal for Morey now so maybe he'll end up backtracking and settling for that deal. I still think the VanVleet/Anunoby/1st round pick deal would be a good one for Morey considering the situation he's in.
The fact that we keep hearing that the Wolves need to find a third team tends to confirm my hypothesis. The Wolves need a third team in rebuilding mode that has a player the Sixers would really like and that would be interested in getting a bunch of further draft picks from the Wolves. I can't think of who that might be. When I think of teams in full rebuild mode, I think of Orlando, Detroit, Houston, and OKC. Who are some win-now guards on each of those teams Philly might be interested in?
ORLANDO -- Fultz? Gary Harris?
DETROIT -- ?????
HOUSTON -- John Wall? Eric Gordon?
OKC -- SGA?
TORONTO -- Fred VanVleet?
SAN ANTONIO -- Derrick White? DeJounte Murray?
NEW ORLEANS -- Josh Hart?
I don't think Philly would be seriously interested in any of these guys other than SGA. And I don't see OKC dealing SGA for Simmons. Moreover, OKC already has a ton of future picks so they wouldn't need what MN has to offer. I could see Morey havIng interest in VanVleet even thought he reportedly rejected the VanVleet/Anunoby offer. But that's a deal that might get revisited and Minnesota wouldn't be a part of it.
Morey isn't going to get the two guys he covets - Beal or Lillard -- this summer. And it's a roll of the dice if he thinks either might be available later this season or next summer. I think Morey would be happy to "settle for" Fox at this point, but so far the Kings seem set on not including him in any deal for Simmons. I still think that could change if Morey added some sweeteners on his end. Assuming Fox is also off the table, Morey's left with the following high-caliber lead guards who could provide playmaking scoring punch at the PG position to complement Embiid and Harris:
Indiana -- Brogdon
Minnesota -- Russell (might have to include Beasley or at least McDaniels)
Toronto -- VanVleet (would need to include Anunoby)
Sacramento -- Haliburton (not proven, but looked good last season. The key would be including Hield and Bagley)
It's been reported that Indiana has already offered Brogdon and had that offer rejected. The report in this thread indicates that VanVleet and Haliburton have already been offered and rejected by Philly. I predict that one of those four PGs (or Fox) will end up getting traded for Simmons by the start of the season. I listed them in descending order of value from a win-now perspective. I think the most valuable asset pair would be Russell and Beasley, followed by Haliburton and Hield. But I also think VanVleet and Anunoby would be a solid win-now pair. All those pairings seem better from a win-now perspective than Russell and McDaniels.
