A blockbuster trade proposal has the Philadelphia 76ers sending superstar Joel Embiid to an up-and-coming team in the Western Conference.
Embiid has been frequently mentioned in trade rumors ever since he made cryptic comments about his future at the Uninterrupted Film Festival earlier this month. There, Embiid talked about his desire to win an NBA championship, interestingly stating with the 76ers “or anywhere else.”
His teammate, fellow All-Star James Harden, is eyeing a trade out of Philadelphia. Should Embiid request a trade and/or if the 76ers decide to rebuild , there certainly wouldn’t be a shortage of teams interested in his services.
At NBA Analysis Network, James Piercey proposed a massive trade that has Philadelphia sending Embiid to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Davis Bertans, Ousmane Dieng, Luguentz Dort and five first-round picks (one in 2024, two in 2025, one in 2026 and another in 2027):
“Disregard the first two players coming on board here. Bertans is strictly a salary matcher here. Dort is a good player, but his primary function here is to make the money work. The Sixers could keep him – he’s young enough for a rebuild – or move him before the deadline.
On the other hand, Dieng counts. He’s raw, but this is a player with a unique combination of length and ball-handling ability. Dieng has some star upside.
Still, that’s not the main point for the Sixers here. They’re landing five unprotected first-round picks. With those assets, the Sixers can start building around Tyrese Maxey. Hopefully, he won’t request a trade any time soon.”
Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti has assembled a mammoth amount of first-round picks over the last four years, having traded away marquee players like Paul George, Chris Paul and former MVP award winner Russell Westbrook.
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The Thunder showed signs of progress last season, finishing 40-42 which was enough to qualify for the play-in tournament. After defeating the New Orleans Pelicans in the 9 vs. 10 game, they were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the showdown to decide the No. 8 seed.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has grown into a star with the Thunder, having averaged 31.4 points per game last season. Adding one more proven star like Embiid could help them make the jump to title contender in a crowded Western Conference.
But of course, only time will tell if the 76ers and Embiid decide to split. For now, the Thunder just have to focus on adding to a promising core led by Gilgeous-Alexander.
