If 76ers’ Joel Embiid requests a trade, it should be to the Brooklyn Nets
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and his team lost Game 7 of their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Sunday and as such, Philadelphia’s season ends in the second round of the postseason in five of the past six seasons. According to Scott Rogust of Fansided, if Embiid requests a trade this offseason, he should want to go to the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn is currently in an offseason that is important for the franchise given the matters that they have to consider along with the draft and free-agency. In addition to addressing Cam Johnson’s restricted free-agency and how Ben Simmons fits into the organization’s timeline moving forward, the Nets ultimately have to decide whether they want to get back in the championship picture or enter a rebuild.
If Brooklyn decides to do what it can to get back into the Eastern Conference title conversation, trading for Embiid would be on par or at least vastly similar to trading for Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard. While Lillard seems to be more attainable at this point, it’s possible that the 76ers could radically change the direction of the organization if James Harden goes back to the Houston Rockets and if head coach Doc Rivers if fired following his latest failure to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
There will be a lot that happens this summer before Nets fans will know if Embiid is willing to leave Philadelphia. For now, it’s just a thought exercise. Here’s what Rogust had to say about why Embiid should want to be traded to the Nets if he does indeed request it:
“Even after moving on from Durant and Irving, the Nets were still able to make it into the playoffs. Head coach Jacque Vaughn got the most out of Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton, and more to clinch the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, thus avoiding the play-in tournament.
The Nets do need a big presence to score points in the paint. According to TeamRankings.com, the Nets averaged the second-fewest points in the paint per game this past season with 43.6. Getting Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, would certainly provide a huge boost to the team.”
