Philadelphia 76ers: What a trade for Chris Paul might look like
By Duncan Smith
The Philadelphia 76ers have a desperate need for a ball-handler and facilitator who can shoot the ball, and Chris Paul is the best candidate.
The Philadelphia 76ers have a fatal flaw, one that won’t be easily fixed. They have one capable and reliable ball-handler on the roster, just one player who can even make an entry pass down to Joel Embiid in the post. And that ball-handler, Ben Simmons, refuses to shoot the ball from outside of three feet of the basket.
In any era, that’s hard to overcome, but it’s downright impossible in 2020. The Sixers don’t have salary cap flexibility to be able to resolve the situation, and the draft isn’t even a remote possibility for finding a player who can come in and contribute in that fashion this year, so a trade remains the only realistic option. The best target who checks off their needed boxes is OKC Thunder point guard Chris Paul.
Paul’s salary is gargantuan as he’ll be making $41.3 million this season and he has a player option worth $44.2 million next season. He’s sure to pick up his option as he’ll be turning 36 next season, and that money couldn’t be recouped on the open market.
We’ll take a look at a possible package to bring Chris Paul to the Philadelphia 76ers via trade:
This is an absolute haul and increases the Thunder’s already massive war-chest of draft assets, and it gives the Sixers the thing they need most. We’ll take a look at how this trade would work for both teams, starting with the Thunder.