A Tough Decision That Should Be Done From The Philadelphia 76ers (12-13-21)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports
Despite a chaotic offseason, The Philadelphia 76ers started this season as the best team in the Eastern Conference. They were in first place for a little while. However, injuries and covid took a toll on this team and now they currently find themselves fighting to avoid the play-in tournament if the playoffs were to start today. Life without Ben Simmons has been a pleasant surprise in Philadelphia. The team has responded quite well without the Allstar. Maxey has blossomed. Curry has been lethal on the floor. And Andre Drummond has been the best backup center in the league. Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid have been the main ones banged up and dealing with covid issues and they are the best players on this Sixers team as it stands. This Ben Simmons saga and not being able to add valuable assets is definitely something we are all scratching our heads over. Why not just trade the man and get some key pieces so you can compete to win a championship? In my opinion, if you have a Top 10 NBA Player on your roster, winning an NBA Championship should be your main focus. Joel Embiid is one of the most dominant players in the league. He nearly won MVP last season. But this season, he doesn’t look like his true self. Maybe it’s the recovery of Covid-19. Perhaps it’s electing not to get surgery on his knee injury that slowed him down last postseason. Whatever the case is, I know many people in Philadelphia may not want to hear this. But as long as this Ben Simmons situation is looming, the Sixers aren’t a title contender. With that being said, it may be time to trade Joel Embiid as well. In fact, now is the best time to do so! The only reason you would consider trading Joel Embiid is if you know for certain that you can not win a championship now and that the window has closed.
These past few years in Philadelphia have ended in dramatic and depressing defeats. Last season, of course the whole Ben Simmons situation happened. Philly really needs a guy on the wing that can take over games and Ben Simmons ain’t it. All championship teams have that. Lebron with the Cavs and Lakers over the years of coarse comes to mind. Then there’s Kawhi Leonard with the Raptors. Can’t forget to mention Steph Curry in Golden State to go along with Kevin Durant. And even Giannis who is getting better by the day! I’m sure we all remember the dreadful Kawhi Leonard shot that rolled in. That may have been the most heartbreaking loss for Philly because there’s a good chance they would have won it all that season with Jimmy Butler. Speaking of Jimmy Butler, Miami is the perfect trade destination for Joel Embiid and the best move Morey, Brand, and company can possibly make. Get on the phone with Pat Riley and you tell him that this is the season for you guys to get back to the Finals and win it all. Miami is that good and they are just a superstar away from being favorites really. Offer Joel Embiid, the most dominant Center in today’s game for Bam Adebayo, maybe Duncan Robinson or Victor Oladipo, and some draft picks. Who says no? This is a trade that will help both parties involved. Getting Bam in exchange for Joel Embiid gives you a young and talented Center in the league who can still do some of the things Joel Embiid can do. He’s much younger and not as injury proned as Embiid is. He pushes your timeline back and gives you time to reboot again to compete for that championship. Again, considerations on trading Joel Embiid is ONLY if you feel like this window has closed to win a championship. It’s not easy to bring in top Free Agents in the city of Brotherly Love. So it will definitely be difficult to retool and reboot with Joel Embiid. Save yourself the trouble and get a lump sum of pieces that can accelerate the rebuild process. This is the best deal I can see. What other deals do you see if the the option was to trade The Process and start all over again?
