The Philadelphia 76ers’ Holiday Trade Wishlist

The holiday season is upon us, a time for gift giving and wish granting. The Philadelphia 76ers are still in the purgatory of waiting on Ben Simmons and whatever that entails. They’ve had some nice wins here or there, but they sit just 16-16, currently in the play-in tournament and have lost some brutal games recently. The February 10th trade deadline is fast approaching and somethings gotta give eventually. More and more teams are beginning to get desperate, and a move seems to be on the horizon. If the 76ers could have any player they wanted, it would be these guys.  Here’s the Sixers’ Holiday Wishlist. 

The Dream 

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1. Damian Lillard

The obvious crown jewel of the wishlist, Damian Lillard is exactly what the 76ers need. A recent efficiency graphic made by the venerable Kirk Goldsberry shows the Sixers as one of the worst offensive teams, ranking 27th in the league. They desperately need an offensive punch up. In what way do they need an offensive increase? They need someone that can shoot, create on the perimeter and handle playmaking duties. Lillard does all of that.

Pros: The Trail Blazers are really struggling right now, and Lillard seems unhappy as he’s ever been. That means more than any time in Lillard’s career he’s movable. Lillard instantly solves the 76ers’ offensive woes. He’s one of the premier three-point marksmen in league history, and for the Sixers who currently rank 28th in the three-point makes that’s desperately needed. Lillard in general is an excellent scorer. He might be in a slump right now, but the past five seasons he’s scored 27.6 points per game. He can do it without help, with one of the lowest assisted field goal percentages in the league, and much less than anyone on the 76ers. Finally, Lillard has been the ball handler on a playoff squad for years, and has much more ability and experience on that end than anyone else on the Sixers. He upgrades the offense, the shooting, perimeter creation and makes plays for others. Offensively it’s everything the Sixers could dream of.

Cons: Lillard struggles defensively, and without Ben Simmons the Sixers have really struggled to keep opposing teams down. Matisse Thybulle is the only plus perimeter defender they have, and when Joel Embiid is out problems really arise. Lillard will not help that, and combined with Seth Curry will be one of the weakest defensive backcourts in the league. In addition, as disgruntled as Lillard seems, he is nothing if not loyal, and has almost built a brand on that. Him leaving would be a monumental occurrence, even if he does seem unhappy right now.

2. Bradley Beal

Beal is 1b to Lillard’s 1a. He might not shoot the three as well as Lillard, or playmake as well, but in terms of pure perimeter scoring he’s the superior player, and that’s the most important thing the 76ers need. Beal can get a bucket on anyone, and the 76ers get stuck in scoring ruts more than any playoff contending team should. 

Pros: Beal averaged over 30 points a game in the two seasons before this one, and is one of the most gifted scorers in the league. He’s a true three-level threat, able to get buckets anyway you need him to. He’s also in a slump this year, which makes him more gettable, and the Washington Wizards are falling after a hot start. Doc Rivers also doesn’t seem to favor one guy handling all creating duties, so even though Beal isn’t quite as adept at setting up others as Lillard (although Beal isn’t bad at it, averaging 5.4 assists the past three years, more than any current Sixer) that isn’t as important in the current 76ers’ system. Beal is also still fairly young at just 28, which lines up with Joel Embiid (27) and Tobias Harris (29) quite nicely.

Cons: Similar to Lillard, Beal doesn’t help the defensive side of things. He also doesn’t really solve the playmaking issues the 76ers have, as he’s not really a primary ball handler that sets others up. Most of his career he’s had a guy to do that, whether it was John Wall or Russell Westbrook last year. Beal has also been slipping on the three-point side of things recently. In his last five seasons he’s shooting just 35.2% from deep, which at this point is barely above the league average, and is often below that. He’s had much more responsibility in those seasons, and hopefully sharing that burden with Embiid will get him back to his earlier career numbers, but it’s worth a pause. 

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Honestly, for many reasons Gilgeous-Alexander could easily be considered the number one most attractive target for the 76ers, above Lillard and Beal. He’s still very young and his game has really developed nicely. He’s also got more of an all-around skill set than either of the previous two names on the list.

Pros: Age is majorly in SGA’s favor. He’s just 23, younger than Ben Simmons even. Heck he’s nearly two years younger than Matisse Thybulle! That means SGA isn’t even just an all-in piece, he’s a building block that could be the star of the franchise when Embiid is gone. In terms of his game too, he’s got the makings of everything you could want out of a player. Athletically, and especially size-wise he’s incredible, 6’6” with a 6’11” wingspan which makes him lethal at the rim and should give him a ton of potential defensively. He’s shown a burgeoning sense for passing the ball, and last year he shot a stellar 41.8% from three. That will probably not happen again, but at least he’s not inept from range. Essentially, SGA is the longer, taller and more developed version of Tyrese Maxey who’s already made waves this season and he’s really not that much older. SGA also doesn’t shy away from the moment which would be a welcome change. 

Cons: Even though his name has been linked in trade talks, there’s really no reason for the Oklahoma City Thunder to deal SGA for all the reasons he’s an ideal target for the Sixers. He’s a young point guard with incredible size and an all-around game. Why would the Thunder trade him? In addition, if there is a flaw with SGA it’s that so far his production has come on a bad team that has no one else that’s even remotely a real offensive threat. It’s not hard to put up numbers on such squads, and even then 23.7 points last year and 22.1 points this year aren’t close to what Lillard and Beal have shown they can do. His efficiency has taken quite the dip this year, he’s not a great defender even if he has the tools to do it and besides finishing he’s not amazing at anything quite yet. Still, SGA would be an incredible get, arguably the best one. 

The Good

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1. De’Aaron Fox

Speaking of SGA being a taller Tyrese Maxey, De’Aaron Fox also represents a “finished” version of Maxey. Normal size point guard, elite downhill attacker, not great defender, not amazing shooter, it’s all very similar. Fox though, is basically a better version, or what Maxey will hope to be in a few years. 

Pros: Fox is incredibly quick, has scored 20+ points three straight seasons and is averaging 6.2 assists per game for his career. He’s still quite young at 24, and is arguably the best playmaker on the list so far. He’s one of the best drivers in the league and would probably require the least adjustment to how the 76ers currently play which would make his integration easier. Sacramento has gone nowhere with Fox at the helm, and could be looking for a fresh start, or for Tyrese Haliburton to take over the reins. That makes Fox much more realistic to get than, say, Gilgeous-Alexander.

Cons: Five years in, Fox is probably not going to improve dramatically, so he’s never going to be a good shooter or defender. The spacing will continue to be an issue with Fox around, as his career 31.8% from deep is pretty horrible. The perimeter defense will suffer and so far Tyrese Maxey is following a near identical career path to Fox, which sort of begs the question if they even need him. Should they shackle themselves to a player like Fox for the rest of Embiid’s prime when they could have the next De’Aaron Fox already on the team?

2. Russell Westbrook

Certainly not a popular name right now, but Westbrook can still play. He’s still going to make poor decisions, shoot bad shots on questionable efficiency and all together make you tear your hair out, yet the guy is still putting up 19.6/7.9/8.1. 

Pros: Raw numbers still show Westbrook as a good player. He’s seventh in the league in assists and third amongst guards in rebounds. He’ll help in transition, where the Sixers have struggled this year, and will provide the playmaking they need. In terms of assists, he’s the best of anyone the Sixers could get by far. Westbrook will also bring fire and energy that their previous star point guard very much did not, and that’s not to be understated. The Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling with Westbrook and may be looking to move on, which makes him a distinct possibility. Westbrook’s scoring has also taken a major dip this season, but just two years ago he was putting up 27.2 points per game. If he even has a little of that still left in him, he can be the second fiddle to Embiid that Philadelphia desperately needs. 

Cons: Westbrook is by far the oldest player on this list at 33. He’s on a clear decline, and at this point in his career is easily the worst perimeter scorer so far. He doesn’t scare anyone shooting the ball, which won’t help the spacing issues, and while Westbrook is a fine on-ball defender the off-ball defense is another matter entirely. Westbrook’s contract is also bigger than Simmons, making an eye-watering 44 million this year and 47 million next year which means if it’s just the Lakers and Sixers, Daryl Morey and co. would need to send additional players to make salaries match. Then again, Westbrook and Beal have deals that expire the fastest, which would open up a max slot for Embiid the fastest if the Sixers want to go that route. That could be a pro in it’s own right.

The “Meh”

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1. Kemba Walker

It’s been an up-and-down year for the veteran point guard. He was as starter for a bit, then near permanently benched by the New York Knicks, and has now put together quite the four game stretch with the Knicks dealing with personnel issues. It could be a flash in the pan, but it’s not like Kemba wasn’t a fantastic player just a few years ago, and he’s not THAT old. 

Pros: Walker is the cheapest option by far, although that could also be a con as that makes trades awkward. In terms of attainability though, he’s someone that the Knicks were straight up not using a week or so ago. They barely want him. Walker at his best though, is a fantastic isolation scorer on the perimeter, a decent three-point shooter (below Beal and Lillard but above Fox and Westbrook) and a solid passer, which ticks all the boxes. In addition, Walker is much less of an all-in move than the rest of these guys. It could be Walker and some other guys, and his contract ends after next season anyways. He represents a fairly low risk, but quite the high reward if these past four games are anything to go by. 

Cons: Walker was so bad at the beginning of the season that again, he was benched by the Knicks until they didn’t have enough players to suit up. He’s past 30 and on the decline, and like most of these players, is a defensive liability. All of the players above Walker are guaranteed second options (maybe not Westbrook, but the rest for sure) while there’s no guarantee Walker can be that at all. If they get first-18-games-Kemba then he’s basically worthless, and that risk very well could outweigh the reward of getting past-four-games-Kemba. 

2. Dejounte Murray

Murray is an interesting case, and very different from many of the players on this list. He’s on the younger side and isn’t the scorer any of these guys are, but he best fills the specific hole that Ben Simmons leaves.

Pros: Murray is just 25, a few days younger than Ben Simmons himself. He’s by far the best defender on this list, in fact he’s one of the better defenders in the NBA full stop. His assist numbers are also the best of any of these guys at 8.8 (fourth in the league) and he’s actually leading all guards in rebounds with 8.4. He’s steadily improved his scoring every year, and this has been a banner season for him from deep, even if that’s still not amazing. 

Cons: Murray isn’t the second option, perimeter threat that the Sixers desperately need. Offensively he’s not close to any of the other guys at their peak. He’s not a three-point shooter and probably won’t ever be a good one as evidenced by his poor free-throw shooting. His contract isn’t that high, which makes trades awkward, and similar to SGA there’s really not a reason for the San Antonio Spurs to deal Murray for Simmons. The Spurs aren’t really going places with Murray, and Simmons has the theoretical higher ceiling but still, the 17.8/8.4/8.8 that Murray is putting up right now is basically better than anything Simmons has put together. 

Honorable Mentions

The Houston Rockets are desperate to get rid of John Wall, who scored 20.6 points per game last year and has averaged 9.1 assists per game in his career. He’s the same age as Kemba Walker, but his body may be significantly more broken.

Ricky Rubio is a guy that really just contributes to winning basketball. He’s been a revelation of the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, scoring at essentially a career-high clip and he’s always been a fantastic passer and impactful defender. 

Finally, CJ McCollum is kind of Lillard-lite in every way, which should make him easier to acquire. With McCollum there is an element of settling though, which isn’t ideal now that they’ve waited so long.