As the Philadelphia 76ers pick up the pieces following their second-round playoff exit, they have limited options to improve the roster: the draft and the trade market.
The biggest asset Philadelphia possesses is 24-year-old All-Star Ben Simmons, who could probably use a change of scenery at this stage of his career. He has failed to put together his size and skills to dominate the game as he should. And unless he can make offensive improvements under coach Doc Rivers’ guidance, it might be better for both Simmons and the Sixers to divorce.
A new trade suggestion from Bleacher Report has Philadelphia sending Simmons to the Indiana Pacers for Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb. B/R on why the Sixers would do it:
Following his disastrous showing against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons’ days in Philly should be numbered. The Sixers just can’t go through another playoff run with him, especially with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris playing some of the best basketball of their careers.
Brogdon, 28, fits the timeline in Philadelphia perfectly. He averaged 21.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and hit 38.8 percent of his 3-pointers for the Pacers this season. Brogdon is also one of the NBA’s best free-throw shooters, leading the league in 2018-19 (92.8 percent) and would rank 12th in basketball history (88.7 percent) if he had enough attempts to qualify.
Lamb, 29, helps match up salaries but would be a useful rotation piece in Philly. He put up 10.1 points on 40.6 percent shooting from 3 this season.
While the Pacers could make things work with Simmons, Domantas Sabonis, and Caris LeVert and the fit of Brogdon and Lamb would be nice next to Embiid, the Sixers could do better than this package. Philadelphia should do more monitoring of the Damian Lillard situation in Portland before looking at other options.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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