Envisioning a swap of Al Horford and D’Angelo Russell at the NBA trade deadline

Once in a while, there’s a simple solution to a problem in the NBA. It’s rarer when a single move at the NBA trade deadline solves two problems at once.

The NBA trade deadline is a time to cure what ails you, whether it be in the short term if you are a contender who is a piece away or a rebuilding team in search of assets. Ideally you fix your issues in such a fashion that your trade counterpart is able to do the same. Or at least they have the perception that working with you will help with that.

To find an ideal trade as a thought exercise, we must find two teams with glaring needs as we near the NBA trade deadline. In this case, we’ll look at the Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors have a player that a number of rebuilding teams want. D’Angelo Russell is reportedly being targeted by both the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Neither team is willing (yet) to give up the pieces it would take to get him, but the Sixers might have an inside track if they were willing to go outside the box.

To give full credit (or blame!), Keith Smith came up with an intriguing idea along these lines (you can follow Keith on Twitter at @KeithSmithNBA).

Philadelphia has a big salary that can match Russell’s $27.285 million for this season in the form of Al Horford and his $28 million.

Russell could fill a glaring hole in the Sixers’ starting lineup as a primary ball handler who can shoot from the perimeter. He can also play off the ball alongside Ben Simmons or lead non-Simmons bench lineups.

His presence would add a whole new dimension to the Sixers, and as they look to figure out what on earth is wrong with them on the road it might be a move worth making.

As for Horford’s utility in this arrangement, his contract is likely to quickly worsen. He’s 33 and his contract runs three years after this one. In his age-36 season he’ll have a player option worth $26.5 million.

On the other hand his game may age somewhat gracefully for a big man. He’s not likely to suffer much from future loss of athleticism as that’s not really what he’s about.

It’s worth noting that in this player option season, Stephen Curry will become a free agent. In the alternate universe where this trade takes place, it’s hard to see how the two contract situations will relate to each other, but nonetheless it is a fact we must reference.

The “stuff” Keith mentions becomes even more interesting, especially thanks to the trade the Warriors and Sixers made Wednesday night. With Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III headed to Philadelphia, the Sixers need to clear two roster spots and the Warriors have a depleted roster.

Keith describes the situation below:

The Warriors gained some tax relief with the trade of Burks and Robinson and are now $5.8 million away from the hard cap. There’s no easy way for the Sixers to just send more players to Golden State given the dire state of their roster, but they could send Horford and Shake Milton as well as more draft capital to go with the three second-round picks they already sent out on Wednesday.

In the end, it could work out for both teams for different reasons, but no, this isn’t a deal that will happen.

Yes, it’s essentially a fantasy, especially for the Philadelphia 76ers as they try to right their violently listing ship.