When one of the top five players in the NBA becomes available in a trade, every team should take time to consider the possibility of what it would take to land him.
That is certainly the case with New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis.
Although the chances of the Sixers pulling off a deal for Davis have to be considered slim for a number of reasons — starting with the fit with Joel Embiid — let’s fire up the ESPN Trade Machine to see some possible deals that could land Davis in Philadelphia.
This idea would not be popular with the majority of the fan base, but in terms of a talent-for-talent deal, it is a fair one, as both are top 10 players in the NBA. Although Davis has had injury concerns of his own, he has played in at least 60 games each year of his career, and is on pace to play over 75 for the third straight season. Embiid has played 46 games this season, but completely missed his first two years, and played just 94 games the last two seasons. The Pelicans likely won’t come close to landing a better player in a deal for Davis than Embiid, and according to ESPN, this deal would actually improve the Sixers’ win total by four games.
This package would be centered around Simmons. It would certainly be selling high on Simmons for the Sixers, who has had an All-Star caliber season so far, but still has two potentially fatal flaws — a complete lack of a shot and fit issues with Embiid. Although Embiid is the far more talented player, the Pelicans would be foolish to turn down a deal that landed them Simmons, especially while he is still on his rookie deal. Considering Simmons and Davis have the same agent, however, you have to think Simmons' camp would fight back on this trade, making it less appealing for the Pelicans. From the Sixers’ perspective, landing Davis might present some spacing issues with Embiid, but it would give them two of the top five-or-10 players in the NBA. The Sixers would only consider pulling the trigger on a deal for Davis that involved Simmons, however, if Davis agreed to re-sign with the team.
This deal would allow the Pelicans to completely shed salary, as Butler is set to become a free agent this offseason. At that point the Pelicans could decide to either re-sign Butler, centering their team around a top 20-ish player, or keep the cap space open to begin a rebuild. It would also net them two-first round picks, although granted neither will likely be in the top 10. From the Sixers’ perspective, the deal would basically be giving up on Butler now, as opposed to letting him walk this offseason as a free agent, and giving the trio of Embiid, Davis and Simmons a try.