Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers: The flaw in a Ben Simmons “Godfather” trade offer

By Matty Breisch

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Ah, the “Godfather” trade offer, a phrase that gets thrown around a little bit too often to maintain its implied gravitas but is the sort of “All-In” move that can change the course of a franchise, a season, and the NBA landscape as a whole in one fell swoop.

Though there is no true, singular definition of a “Godfather” trade offer, as what teams can offer in any given trade can change substantially depending on their current roster compensation and outstanding commitments, the general consensus around the terms is as follows: A massive, all-chips-to-the-center-of-the-table offer that’s just too good for a potential partner to turn down.

The Los Angeles Lakers successfully fielded a “Godfather” offer to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans and were able to ride that success to the NBA’ first-ever Mickey Mouse championship down in the Magic Kingdom, even if they sincerely missed some of their younger depth players in 2020-21 and will be paying off their draft debts well into the 2020s. The Brooklyn Nets pulled off a similar offer to steal away James Harden from the Houston Rockets, and while that particular move didn’t end in championship gold, it should keep Jay-Z’s former squad near the top of the Eastern Conference power rankings for a very, very long time.

If the Philadelphia 76ers want to truly go all-in on building an offensive juggernaut and capitalizing on the prime of the best player to wear a red, white, and blue jersey since Allen Iverson one basketball generation ago, they have the assets in place to pull off such a deal. They have young prospects on rookie-scale contracts, a 24-year-old three-time All-Star on a four-year max contract, and all but one of their first-round draft picks moving forward.

Would some team love to come in and take Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle, plus as many as three first-round picks and four more pick swaps off of Daryl Morey‘s hands? Most definitely, even if Simmons’ value is at an “All-time low” – even though his exact value is up for debate – he’s still the sort of blue-chip prospect that about a dozen NBA teams would kill to acquire. But, not to be a contrarian, something has always bothered me about the concept of shipping those three players out in a single package sans a third team involved; something that any GM worth their mettle would likely consider before pulling off a franchise-altering trade moving forward: On-court fit.

The Philadelphia 76ers may have to find a third trade partner to land a superstar.

More from Section 215

In 2020-21, Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle shared the court for 54 total minutes, 46 in the regular season and eight measly minutes in the playoffs.

Why, you may ask, didn’t the Philadelphia 76ers’ three best players under the age of 25 share the court more often? Because those handful of minutes where the trio spent time on the court together were downright bad more often than not.

Owning a +/- of -13, the 47th worst mark out of the 606 unique three-man lineups Doc Rivers trotted out in 2020-21, playing Simmons, Maxey, and Thybulle together oftentimes resulted in some of the worst spacing you’ll see in an NBA game, with a crowded up paint and very few viable ventures to score points. Sure, the unit was able to find some success, especially when paired up with Joel Embiid but having three players who aren’t reliable outside shooters on the court together simply isn’t conducive to winning games, even if they would be downright deadly on defense.

Could that situation change at some point down the line? Maybe so. Thybulle is becoming a more and more comfortable shooter from range with each passing month, and Maxey has just scratched the surface of his offensive potential at the NBA level, but anytime soon? Together?

Boy, I wouldn’t want to have to rely on that lineup for some 40-plus minutes over a regular season.

So, if Doc Rivers couldn’t find a way to make those three players work well together, why would some other general manager force such a fate onto their head coach at the expense of an established superstar?

Frankly, I don’t see it.

Now sure, if you’re a really bad team or are just starting a rebuild, typically teams aren’t too picky about fit. The Philadelphia 76ers had players of all shapes and sizes during their intentional rebuild and were able to keep the ones who worked – aka just Joel Embiid- and move on from the ones who didn’t- aka everyone else.

Could a team play the long game with Simmons, Maxey, and Thybulle to see what they have a few years down the line? Most definitely, but who wants to do that? The Portland Trail Blazers certainly don’t, and neither do the Washington Wizards.

And the teams that do? Well, what do they really have to offer? Teams like the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Detroit Pistons are all prioritizing development over an attempt to win now, but their assets don’t exactly fit into the timeline of a 27-year-old MVP candidate with a long history of injuries.

To land the sort of James Harden-esque trade many fans are hopes comes down the pike, the Sixers need to hope an established star like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal demands a trade, and their respective team opts to blow it up and reload around a younger nucleus headlined by a 24-year-old three-time All-Star. Otherwise, the Sixers will be forced to accept a package of starting-caliber players who don’t quite rise to the same level fans are clamoring for, that is, if the team opts to trade Simmons at all.

But fortunately for fans in the 215, there is a third option that could allow the Sixers to have their cake and eat it, too: A multiple-team trade.

I know, crazy, right? If a team like the Blazers want Simmons but aren’t particularly high on the team’s other two young trade chips, why not ship them off to, say, Cleveland in exchange for Collin Sexton, who is reportedly on the block? That would give new head coach Chauncey Billups another 20-plus point scorer to replace the departing Dame D.O.L.L.A. and provide Portland with an intriguing enough Big 3 to remain a Western Conference playoff team around a much younger corps.

To keep things on Cleveland for a moment, what if the Sixers receive an offer of Sexton, Larry Nance Jr., and the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft but would rather land another player in his NBA prime over a 19-year-old rookie? Well, maybe then Morey could re-route that pick and some matching salary to steal away a player like Jerami Grant (just to name a good player on a bad team).

If the Sixers can walk away from a hypothetical Simmons trade with an unhappy All-Star like Pascal Siakam and a scorer like Kelly Oubre, it certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing imaginable.

Next. “Rift” growing between Damian Lillard, Portland. dark

Who knows, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there is a market for Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle to remain together for the foreseeable future- plus a ton of draft compensation- and such a “godfather” offer could persuade a team like the Portland Trail Blazers to finally deliver onto Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the entire City of Brotherly Love the sort generational talent “The Process” was meant to acquire, but for that to happen, it might not be as simple as calling up one GM. No, Philly may have to go the Brooklyn Nets route and contract one, two, maybe even three other teams to route the right pieces to the right places and facilitate such a deal. Fortunately, Daryl Morey has extensive experience doing just that from his time in Houston, so the team at least hired the right man for the job.