Philadelphia 76ers: I guess Tyrese Haliburton wasn’t untouchable after all
James Harden is definitely going to be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers… unless Daryl Morey goes all-in on Damian Lillard from a rapidly depleting Portland Trail Blazers squad.
Or maybe it will be Bradley Beal? His Wizards are in the middle of a horrible losing streak with a lone W coming against Philly’s phinest; maybe Beal will demand out, and the Sixers will reap the benefits?
But why stop there? I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors that the Sixers could offload Tobias Harris and picks to the OKC Thunder to free up cap space as part of a multi-team deal. If Morey can pull that off, why not just sign two or even all three? Heck, get AI out of retirement as a sixth man, and Doc Rivers might have himself his second ring.
However, there’s one player who won’t be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers come 4 pm on Thursday, a player they’ve been linked to for months now: Tyrese Haliburton. Why? Well, because he was just traded to the Indiana Pacers in a six-player deal for Domantas Sabonis.
The Philadelphia 76ers look all-in on an established star.
Tyrese Haliburton has the potential to be a star. Mind you, he’s already really good, as Philadelphia 76ers fans experienced first-hand during his fourth-quarter offensive exhibition at the Wells Fargo Center, but he’s yet to even be named an All-Star, let alone transcend the world of NBA Twitter to become a Sprite/Troli/Mountain Dew salesman.
Would securing Hali’s services in a deal for Ben Simmons have been a great get? You bet, as you’ve probably read ad nauseam from yours truly and others around the situation, the second-year guard out of Iowa State has a Gumbi-like set of skills that can fill in the gaps on any team but again, his potential is still largely theoretical, with no guarantee that he’ll be able to sustain success on a prolonged basis.
Was James Harden a star when he first landed with Daryl Morey in Houston? No, but he was the next closest thing. If you can recall all the way back to 2012, Harden was coming off of a very efficient season that saw the third overall pick out of Arizona State win the Sixth Man of the Year, and his game looked built for a larger role as the focal point of his own team. Right from the jump, Morey’s faith in Harden was paid off with a 25.9, 5.8, 4.9 season that saw the then-fourth year guard named to his first of 11-straight All-Star games.
Could Haliburton take a similar step forward from Year 3 to 4? Totally, I mean, he’s only in his second professional season and already has better numbers across the board than Harden did during his sophomore campaign, but much of that production came as a member of a not-so-good Sacramento Kings squad turned not-so-good Indiana Pacers squad. Harden, by contrast, was the fourth-highest scoring player on a 55-27 team despite playing ten fewer minutes than Seattle SuperSonics holdover Jeff Green.
Unfortunately for the Sixers, for Haliburton to take that step forward from Year 3 to 4, the team would have to wait until 2024, as, again, he’s 21 and well away from his NBA prime. Granted, I’m firmly in the “Haliburton is a player to build around” camp as he, like Darius Garland, just screams All-Star at some point down the line when the Pacers turn the corner but considering Joel Embiid is about to turn 28 and is in the middle of the best season of his life, waiting on his development presents lower immediate ROI than actually going out and landing an established star.
Is a star in the hand better than a future star plus draft picks in the bush? For a team fully in win-now mode, the answer appears to be a resounding yes.
Next. You don’t veto a James Harden trade over Seth Curry. dark
Who knows, maybe the Philadelphia 76ers did negotiate in earnest with the Sacramento Kings. Maybe the reports that they asked for both DeAaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton was true, and the Kings legitimately opted to pursue Domantus Sabonis because they felt the value was better on their end, but I sort of doubt it. No, the one thing that this trade makes as clear as a Crystal Pepsi is that Haliburton was never truly “untouchable” and that Daryl Morey simply opted against betting on potential versus an established performer. If he exists Thursday with a second star, that mindset will be vindicated. And if not? Well, trust the process.