Trade 3: CP3 and others become Sixers
Thunder get: Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, 21st overall pick in 2020 via Sixers
Sixers get: Chris Paul, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes
Kings get: Al Horford, Mike Scott, 2022 first via Sixers
At first, I was quite surprised that my fellow Sixers writers liked the idea of dropping the two contracts and taking Chris Paul on. I didn’t really see the point in doing so. The more I looked at it however, the more it made sense.
The Thunder have already started their young rebuild after they traded Russell Westbrook to the Rockets last summer and they look to get even younger with this trade. Harris would fit their system well and be a great locker room guy to have with the young guys coming through, whilst Richardson gives them a really solid veteran depth player to have alongside adding yet another pick to their warchest, a pick that was initially theirs anyway. The Thunder can afford to give up Paul after Dennis Schroder has proven in this playoff series with the Rockets that he can carry the team and lead them to huge victories.
For the Kings, they add a top-quality center, something that’s missing from their current roster, and add a solid depth player in Mike Scott for their new rebuild to start with that 2022 pick helping them in the future. Like I mentioned in my other trade featuring Hield and Barnes, it’s obvious the Kings want to restart their rebuild without Hield and Barnes, and this allows them to drop them. Adding Barnes to the mix allows them to have more money.
The Sixers would get an aging Chris Paul whose production levels are still as high as ever. Paul is a true point guard who will spread the floor for the Sixers, push Ben out to small forward to do his thing, will provide unbelievable value as an assister to Embiid in the post, and to Hield on the perimeter. His contract, whilst still quite high, ends before either of Harris’ or Horford’s meaning the Sixers have cash to spend sooner rather than later.
I’ve already mentioned why Hield and Barnes will work with the Sixers, so I won’t go into great detail again but Buddy Hield is a phenomenal 3 point shooter (41.1% career 3-point shot). Barnes is a power forward and fills the role that Al Horford was forced into this season, and he’s a great shooter over his career (44.8% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range.)
Obviously three-team trades in the NBA are really tough to do. The chances of these happening are probably slim to none. It took me what felt like 14 hours on a trade machine to get three to work that I like for all teams involved! However, I thought I would show how even though the Sixers may be in a tough situation right now, but with the right choice for the new head coach (cough, Jacque Vaughn, cough) and a couple of shrewd trades involving Harris and Horford, the Sixers can be fixed and molded into true contenders in the East, as they should be.
Mandatory Credit – Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
