Please stop mocking Domantas Sabonis to the Philadelphia 76ers

Everyone has an opinion on who they’d like to see the Philadelphia 76ers secure via trade in a package for Ben Simmons.

Some folks – the correct folks, if you will – want Tyrese Haliburton, while others like John Collins, or Dejounte Murray, or Jaylen Brown, or even D’Angelo Russell; for the most part, there are no “wrong” answers in the hypothetical trade marketplace of ideas.

To Daryl Morey‘s credit, he’s been pretty clear about who he would accept back in a deal for Simmons and the assets needed to get a deal done. While the former Houston Rockets head honcho would ideally prefer to secure an MVP-caliber perimeter scorer to pair up with Joel Embiid in the paint, those players are few and far between, so he’s expanded out his preview to as many as 40 players, especially if said player is a good fit and draft picks are involved.

Could the Sixers ultimately come away from the 2022 NBA trade deadline with a “transitional deal,” aka securing a good player who could be flipped this summer alongside assets if, say, James Harden becomes available in a sign-and-trade deal? Sure. Such a move would increase the ceiling on this current crop of players and potentially give Embiid some much-needed help in this, his should-be MVP season, but the Sixers can’t just accept any deal just to get one done. No, the player they procure has to be a good fit with their current crop in case such an opportunity doesn’t present itself, as it very much may not happen.

As much as Bobby Marks, Bill Simmons, and I’m sure the Indiana Pacers would love to get Ben Simmons in a gold and blue uniform, such a deal just doesn’t make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers, even as a potential asset flip come July, if it’s headlined by Domantas Sabonis.

Domantas Sabonis is a C- trade target for the Philadelphia 76ers.

I get the urge to mock trade Domantas Sabonis to the Philadelphia 76ers; I really do. He’s a great passer, a two-way player, and a savvy sort of lunchpail player who will box out, crash the boards, and set screens for the Sixers’ portfolio of guards.

Theoretically, Sabonis could open up driving lanes for Maxey, run a second-unit offense better than most, and potentially even unlock a whole new element of Joel Embiid’s offense as a blocker in a super-duper-sized four-five pick-and-roll.

In an All-Star game, I would love to see it; Embiid has never really had an ideal power forward partner at any point in his career thus far, and that pick-and-roll specifically would be a ton of fun to watch. But every game? Over the next two-plus seasons?

No thanks.

For one thing, Sabonis is a below-average 3 point shooter in both percentage and volume. Since taking the court in 2016-17, he’s only made 176 3 pointers on 546 attempts for a shooting percentage of 32.2 percent, which is roughly comparable to Embiid’s production over the last three seasons at a much less efficient clip.

Could some of that volume come from his offensive roles over the years? Potentially so, Sabonis is far more likely to perform a dribble handoff at the top of a key than hit an open 3, but when a player makes said 3s at a clip three percentage points below the NBA average, it’s not like that play call would be particularly fruitful.

Unless the Sixers want to revisit the Ben Simmons-Joel Embiid high-low action where the former chills in the dunker spot and the latter shoots 3s from the top of the key, albeit with a more willing dunker, securing Sabonis’ services, as the headliner of a massive trade no less, is a weird decision.

Sidebar: Alternatively, I guess Embiid could remain in the paint, and Sabonis could be the team’s primary offensive facilitators, but that would take the ball out of Tyrese Maxey‘s hands and allow opposing defenders to sag into the paint to triple-team “The Process.”

Offensively, Embiid and Sabonis just don’t work. Embiid is too good to compromise his game to compensate for a lesser scorer, and as Daryl Morey pointed out on his recent radio appearance at  97.5 The Fanatic, if the team is going to accept a lesser player, they have to be a perfect fit.

And what about on the defensive end of the court? Would Sabonis be able to replace Simmons’ production on that end of the court?

In a word, no.

Sabonis is a power forward/center who can cover power forwards/centers relatively well but can’t cycle onto more athletic forwards, let alone guards. While Embiid could take on the “better” four/five an opposing team has to offer defensively, as we’ve even seen the should-be MVP guard Trae Young successfully, that extends his responsibilities even further, which again, makes his life harder, not easier.

Factor in Sabonis’ lack of a transition game, as he’s slow and provides far less utility in the full court than Simmons, and you’re left with a player who is very good in the right role but presents a worse on-court fit than the player he’d be replacing, which isn’t how you win a trade.

At his best, Domantas Sabonis is Al Horford. He’s better than Al, but has a similar offensive game plus better passing, gives opposing bigs a tough time under the basket, and can even shoot the 3 ball a little bit if a defender forgets about him around the arc. In an exhibition game, Sabonis and Joel Embiid could be a lot of fun to watch for the intrigue alone, but as the meat and potatoes of an offense? The look looks less than ideal. If the Philadelphia 76ers are fully committed to adding a power forward, John Collins is a far better fit next to Embiid, and he could likely bring back a better guard than any the Indiana Pacers have to offer.