Philadelphia 76ers: 5 players they could get in a Ben Simmons trade

Philadelphia 76ers: 5 players they are likeliest to get in a Ben Simmons trade – CJ McCollum

For several reasons, a trade between the 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers for Simmons seems like the most logical scenario.

While Philadelphia would love to get their hands on Damian Lillard in a deal, it seems like he will not be budging and requesting a trade anytime soon. Instead, they would likely have to make the swap centered around CJ McCollum. While he has never been an All-Star in the guard-heavy West, McCollum has developed into a star since winning the 2015-16 Most Improved Player Award. He has averaged over 20 points in six consecutive seasons, including a career-high 23.1 points during the 2020-21 season.

McCollum would be a great fit with Embiid and the 76ers. His score-first mentality would help put points on the board that they lacked with Simmons. The most desirable part of his game clearly is his outside shot, as McCollum is a 39.8 percent shooter on 5.6 attempts for his career. The guard is coming off a year where he shot 40.2 percent on a career-high 8.9 attempts per contest, and numbers like that would undeniably help open the floor up for Embiid offensively. McCollum and Embiid would be a formidable tandem on the offensive end due to how well they complement each other.

Although he is not Lillard, McCollum would be another solid option for the 76ers in any potential deal for Simmons.