Philadelphia 76ers: Would anyone actually trade for Al Horford?

Al Horford for Mike Conley

And last but not least, the most realistic trade of all: The Philadelphia 76ers shipping Al Horford to the Utah Jazz for Mike Conley.

Both players are over 30, both players still have plenty to offer in the right system, and both players are holding their respective teams back from unleashing their potential.

First the Jazz. As evidenced by an excellent piece by Jonathan Tjarks at The Ringer, the Jazz have surprisingly unlocked their offensive identity with Donovan Mitchell running the point and Joe Ingles in their starting five alongside Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanović, and Rudy Gobert. With Mitchell running the show, the Jazz’s offense has been far less predictable, far more potent, and all-around better, but in order to bring Conley and the final two years of his five-year, $153 million deal, the Jazz had to ship Derrick Favors to the Pelicans.

Without Favors, the Jazz have been able to field a four-shooter starting five, but they’ve also had no real answer at the backup five when Gobert is out of the game for roughly 14 minutes a night.

Horford can provide shooting from the four, and reserve minutes at the five.

While Horford’s contract has guaranteed money through 2023 – even if 2022-23 is only partially guaranteed – he does provide a better fit with the Jazz right now, and for a team in win-now mode (sound familiar?), I’m of the inclination that you do whatever needs to be done to get a team over the top.

Raptors fans will never care that Masai Ujiri gave up C.J. Miles, Jonas Valančiūnas, Delon Wright, and a 2024 second-round draft pick for Conley’s ex-Grizzlies teammate Marc Gasol when his addition sealed the team a Chip.

Despite being hampered with a hamstring injury this season, Conley is less than a season removed from his best season as a pro – a season where he put up 21.1 points and 6.4 assists a game in 33.5 minutes of action. With a ton of experience playing alongside a quality big, and the ability to run the second-team offense in Ben Simmons’ stead, adding a second All-Star caliber point guard to the Sixers squad could be just what the doctor ordered to hold this team accountable.

Conley was also the recipient of the 2019 NBA Teammate of the Year – take of that what you will.

Now one would like to see the 32-year-old become a tad more consistent as an outside shooter, as he’s only hit 40 percent of his outside shots once over his 13-year NBA career, but between his on-court leadership, locker room leadership, and ability to operate alongside Ben Simmons, or in place of him, fetching Mike Conley would be the best possible result for the Philadelphia 76ers if they opt to trade Al Horford. Would I do it? Why are you asking me, I’m just a writer, not an NBA GM (but yes, yes I would).