Philadelphia 76ers: Consider trading for Justise Winslow

When Ben Simmons refused to take the court for the Philadelphia 76ers, it hurt the team in more ways than one.

Obviously, the Sixers had to play a man down and were missing out on the sort of tangible talent $30-plus million can buy a team at the NBA level. In a vacuum, that money could have been better used on another star or to fill out a bench that proved ineffective come playoff time.

But the absence of Simmons wasn’t just related to what could have been had in his place had Daryl Morey traded him preseason for, say, C.J. McCollum and Robert Covington. No, a ton of what the Sixers did on the court was designed around Simmons’ unicorn-y on-court abilities, from his defense, to his rebounding, and his facilitation too. The Sixers were able to field a unit of undersized small forwards like Danny Green and Matisse Thybulle because of Simmons’ positional diversity on the defensive end of the court, didn’t have to worry about developing a viable full court offense because of his mastery of the fastbreak, and ultimately avoided adding good rebounders because their point guard was hauling in 8.1 per game.

Now granted, can the Sixers be a better team without Simmons? Yes; if composed correctly, aka around Joel Embiid’s talents, the Sixers can be a darn good team indeed who won’t even remember the days of employing a 7-foot tall version of Gary Payton, but hey, that’s easier said than done… unless, of course, the Sixers can find a Simmons-y player via free agency or the draft.

But who could that be? Folks call Simmons a unicorn because of his incredibly rare set of skills; surely there isn’t a similar player on the open market just waiting to be signed, right?

Well, by my estimation, there are two players who fit that bill, Kyle Anderson, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Justise Winslow, who is currently employed by the Portland Trail Blazers. For the sake of this particular Philadelphia 76ers article, let’s focus on the latter.

Winslow can help the Philadelphia 76ers replace some of Simmons’ production.

There was a time when some felt Justise Winslow was a key part of the Miami Heat’s future. He was the 10th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, a darling of the organization, and, after turning in his best season as a pro in 2018-19, was considered more or less off the table in the great Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade of 2019.

And yet, after an underwhelming 2019-20 season that saw the Duke product play in just 11 games, the Heat had a change of heart and shipped Winslow to Memphis in a three-team deal that netted them Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill, and Andre Iguodala. After a tough season in Tennessee that basically dashed any chances of a big-time free agency, Winslow signed with the LA Clippers on the MLE and was ultimately traded to Portland alongside Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, and a second-round pick in a deal for Robert Covington and Norman Powell.

Though Winslow found a surprising amount of success in Portland, starting 10 of the 11 games he appeared in during the 2021-22 season, with a corresponding stat line of 10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals in 26.8 minutes of action per game. Sure, his shooting splits weren’t great, hitting just 40.5 percent of his shots from the field, 27 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and a brutal 56 percent of his shots from the line – very Simmons-y indeed – the rest of his game largely made up for his less than efficient offensive game, especially since he was able to log minutes at small forward, power forward, and even center, in addition to his role as a secondary ballhandler.

And yet, with a cap hit of $4.087 million, Winslow may prove an unnecessarily luxury for a Trail Blazers team looking to make some splashes in free agency, as their roster could look very different this fall indeed, considering they could have as much as $48.96 million in cap space this summer.

If Portland is willing to listen to offers for the former Heatsman(?), preferring more versatile wings over such an idiosyncratic specialist, the Philadelphia 76ers should absolutely come calling, as they have a few moveable second-round picks, matching contracts via players like Furkan Korkmaz, and holes at, well, at pretty much every area that Winslow excels at.

Do the Sixers want to go small and field a lineup without a traditional center? Winslow is perfect for that sort of role, as he can guard players frontcourt and back and switch alongside players like Tobias Harris and Georges Niang. How about a big-ball three who can help with rebounding, space the floor okay-ish, and provide secondary playmaking in the DHO alongside a guard like Tyrese Maxey, who probably isn’t ideally suited to run the second unit solo without another ball handle? Winslow can do that too; he averaged 68.35 touches per game during his highest-usage seasons in Miami and could fill that role again if some team feels so inclined.

Really, the only role Winslow wouldn’t be ideally suited in is the one currently filled by Matisse Thybulle… that is, unless the Washington product finds himself traded before the start of the regular season. If that happens, Winslow could help to fill his shoes too, as it’s not too desperate from the top-of-the-key disruptor role Simmons played during his time in South Philly.

The Philadelphia 76ers don’t have a perfectly defined path to rebuild their roster. They aren’t a rim protector, a floor general, or a 3-and-D wing away from being championship-caliber and instead will have to reconfigure their roster more thoroughly, with relatively limited options to get it done considering their asset pool, trade chips, and current cap situation. For the price of, say, Furkan Korkmaz and a second-round pick, Daryl Morey could secure the services of Justise Winslow, who isn’t a magic pill by any means but could help to glue together the Sixers’ disparate parts into something more complementary.