The entire basketball world is a bit stir crazy right now as the hiatus continues, so why not take a look at another hypothetical trade involving the Philadelphia 76ers? After taking a look at a deal that would send Tobias Harris to the Sacramento Kings for Buddy Hield, we now take a look at a deal involving big men.
In a 3-team deal involving the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons suggested by Bleacher Report, the Sixers would send Al Horford to the Pacers, Indiana would send Myles Turner and Jeremy Lamb to Detroit, and the Pistons would send Blake Griffin to the Sixers and a draft pick to Indiana.
B/R on the Sixers part of the deal:
Starting with Philly, getting Al Horford off the books needs to happen, even if it’s for Griffin’s deal that runs a year shorter.
A healthy Griffin would raise the ceiling of this Sixers team, and the 31-year-old has already turned in All-Star seasons playing next to big men like DeAndre Jordan and Andre Drummond. Putting Griffin in a starting unit with Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons would not only give Philly the biggest lineup in the NBA, but the strongest as well.
Health is the keyword with Griffin. While super talented and with the ability to carry a team at times, he has missed a lot of time due to injuries over the years. He played in 67 games in the 2014-15 season followed by playing 35 games in 2015-16 and 61 games in 2016-17 and 58 in 2017-18.
He did play 75 games in the 2018-19 season averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while dragging the Pistons to the playoffs, but he could only play two games in the postseason due to a knee injury and that knee injury has limited him to 18 games in the 2019-20 season.
If he is healthy–which is a big “if”–then it’s worth the gamble. Griffin is a versatile forward who has legitimate range on his shot. He shot 36.2% from deep in 2018-19 while taking 7.0 3-pointers per game so there is a floor stretcher at the power forward position next to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
It is a move that will probably be worthwhile. Especially when considering the lack of offense the Sixers have been able to generate around Simmons and Embiid. Griffin’s skill set would fit better next to those two as he is a guy who is able to handle the ball, he has good vision, and he’s a star in the sense of the word. Also, the Sixers could probably coax another asset out of Detroit as they try and move off Griffin’s deal. [lawrence-related id=30951,30944,30923]