The Philadelphia 76ers should trade Markelle Fultz for D’Angelo Russell

Montverde Academy Big 3

While it’s usually anyone’s guess how a player will fit into a new scheme, Russell and Embiid’s established relationship should help to squelch some of that variability. However, Embiid isn’t the only player who shared a court with Russell back in college. In a true stroke of luck, the team actually has a second player who did the same.

And together, the duo were a force to be reckoned with.

In 2012, Rusell transferred to Montverde Academy following his freshman year of High School to share the court with Joel Embiid, but the duo seldom had a chance to do so, as JoJo opted to transfer to The Rock School in Gainsville.

However, Russell wasn’t stuck without a second star for long, as in 2013 a young, gigantic point forward from Australia enrolled with the school as a sophomore.

That player was (obviously) Ben Simmons, and the duo set the private high school world by storm.

In two seasons of action, Simmons and Russell’s 1,200 capacity private school two-peated as High School National Tournament champions, leading to a pair of five-star ratings and a slew of scholarship offers for the duo.

Fast forward a few calendar years, and Russell was selected second overall after a solid career at Ohio State in 2015, and Simmons went first overall in 2016 following an underwhelming one-and-done stop at LSU.

Now it’s anyone’s guess if Simmons, Embiid, and Russell are still friends, but if his glowing comments to ex-NBCS Philadelphia reporter Jessica Camerato back in 2016 are of any indication, it would appear the trio would not only appreciate playing together once more, but already have the built-in relationship to thrive together on the court.