The 2019-20 season is now officially in the books and everybody has now turned their attention to what is expected to be a quick and exciting offseason. For the Philadelphia 76ers, they are expected to make some type of move to improve the roster around stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
The Sixers don’t have too much money to spend in free agency so they have to make moves on the trade market if they are to add to their roster. Bleacher Report continues to push out some trade suggestions and this is another one to be evaluated.
The deal is the Sixers send Al Horford, Mike Scott, and Zhaire Smith to the Washington Wizards for John Wall.
B/R on the deal:
Wall’s remaining contract (three years, $131.5 million) could be one of the NBA’s worst if he’s not close to the player he was before, but the upside is high enough for a team like the Sixers to swap another bad contract for him.
Horford is owed $81 million over the next three seasons, and while he doesn’t offer the scoring or playmaking of Wall, his contract is far less dangerous on a team’s ledger. The Wizards could use him as their starting center while trying to get something out of Smith, the 16th overall pick in 2018.
Ultimately, though, this deal would be about getting off Wall’s contract.
A healthy Wall would give Philly an elite point guard and allow Ben Simmons to stay at power forward full-time. Getting rid of Horford’s deal should be a priority this offseason, even if it means adding another bad one at a position of need with Wall.
It makes a lot of sense. Philadelphia is in need of another ball-handler if they are to fully move Simmons off the ball and Wall is a guy, when healthy, who can be a dynamic player with the ball. He can score at the rim, he has a nice midrange jumper, and he is an aggressive guard around the rim and in transition. The big issue is his health as he has played a grand total of 73 games over the past three seasons combined and he just turned 30. This is a deal the Sixers would likely steer clear of. [lawrence-related id=38320,38317,38311]