Philadelphia 76ers: Who could Charlotte trade for Ben Simmons?

The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t going to trade Ben Simmons in the next three weeks… unless they do.

They are 100 percent committed to pursuing James Harden this summer in a sign-and-trade… unless a package comes along that clears their proverbial bar.

Confusing? Yes. Hard to follow? Totally, but hey, when a quarter dozen sourced rumors drop on the very same day, what more can you do but take a step back, scratch your head, and try to understand the ever-shifting future of the Philadelphia 76ers?

The latest wrinkle in this Shar Pei of Philly rumors? That the Charlotte Hornets have remained engaged in trade talks centered around Ben Simmons. Is this interest new? No, it’s been reported before, but since then, the Hornets have become one of the most exciting teams in the NBA, and the value of their assets has changed as a result. So now, at the tail end of January, what would a trade offer between the two teams look like, and would it be enough to get a deal done? Let’s try to find out.

Charlotte has an interesting asset pool the Philadelphia 76ers can choose from.

Alright, so right from the jump, LeMelo Ball is off the table in any trade conversations between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets.

Sorry folks, that isn’t happening.

The next tier of players who probably aren’t totally untouchable but would require a serious asset re-evaluation unattractive to Daryl Morey are Miles Bridges and rookie James Bouknight. Bridges, once a favorite trade target of yours truly after turning down a low-ball extension offer by Charlotte, has become the Hornets’ second-best player and will surely land a nine-figure contract when the season comes to an end. And as for Bouknight? Well, his play has been encouraging, and at 21, he’s more of a project than a playoff piece.

On the flipside, roughly a third of the Hornets’ roster has very little trade value and would only get thrown into a hypothetical deal, as opposed to being a featured player. Unless needed for cap matching purposes, the Sixers surely have no interest in Mason Plumlee or Ish Smith, and young players like Jalen McDaniels, JT Thor, Nick Richards, Vernon Carey Jr., Scottie Lewis, Arnoldas Kulboka, and Kai Jones are more or less washes versus what Philly already has.

So who does that leave? Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., Gordon Hayward, and P.J. Washington.

Of the four, Washington is the youngest and has the highest developmental ceiling. While he hasn’t quite been the player Charlotte expected when they drafted him 12th overall out of Washington, Washington is still a 6-foot-7 hybrid frontcourt player who can defend, shoot 3s, and finish alright around the rim. If the Sixers believe that his game could be unlocked by playing with a dominant center like Joel Embiid, maybe he’s an attractive young player that they’d be into.

Then there’s Rozier, who is probably the most plug-and-play of the quartet in Philly’s scheme. The former Louisville Cardinal is a do-it-all combo guard with experience playing both on and off the ball and a deep bag of offensive tricks. Whether playing off of Tyrese Maxey or in place of him, Rozier would be a wonderful partner in crime for Embiid in clutch situations and could reliably run the show for stretches of any given game.

Plus, Rozier hates the Boston Celtics about as much as most Philly fans, so he’d fit right in.

Oubre Jr., or “Tsunami Papi” as some call him, would also fit well on the Sixers, as he’s a very good 3-and-D wing who can finish a little bit around the rim, play the transition lanes, and add some flash to a team that too often gets vanilla when Embiid exits the court.

And as for Gordon? Well, he’s sort of like if Tobias Harris liked to take more catch-and-shoot 3s and would likely only end up in a deal if he was swapped out for his South Philly counterpart.

Does trading Simmons and two young players – say, Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed – to the Hornets for Rozier, Washington, and Oubre technically work? Yes, and so does an expanded version of the deal that includes Harris and Hayward for that matter too.

But would Philly actually do either deal? No, not unless the Hornets pay up an unrealistic number of draft picks to sweeten the pot.

I know, I know, talk about an anticlimactic ending, but come on, do you really see Daryl Morey accepting such a package? While either package would unquestionably make the Philadelphia 76ers better, as the team would be swapping out three non-rotation players for three really good ones, none of the players in question, not even P.J. Washington, present the sort of upside the team is looking for and none of the established vets are what one would call a top-40 player, not even Gordon Hayward. As fun as such a deal would be to see, if for no other reason than to be done with this whole ordeal, this just isn’t the sort of package that would realistically get a deal done, which is why it probably won’t happen.