Intradivision trades between playoff contenders are of the rare sort. Nonetheless, with the New York Knicks rumored to have interest in trading for Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid, it's worth wondering what it would take for both sides to agree to a deal.
Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, is one of the league's premier players. However, he doesn't have the best track record with injuries and has yet to even make it to the NBA Finals at 29 years old.
That said, star teammate James Harden is rumored to have interest in leaving the Sixers on the heels of a second-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics. Furthermore, the Sixers released longtime head coach Doc Rivers from his contract, leading to major questions about the future of the franchise. Including the possibility that Philadelphia considers an Embiid trade.
The Knicks aren't in a much better position. Despite a breakout season by point guard Jalen Brunson and strong performances from several players, including 2022-23 All-Star selection Julius Randle. However, Randle once again underperformed in the playoffs, leading to questions about his future with the franchise despite him clearly being a talented player.
So, what would the perfect trade between the Sixers and Knicks — one centered around Embiid — look like?
The perfect Joel Embiid trade Knicks must offer Sixers
A three-team trade between the New York Knicks, Philadelphia and Indiana Pacers could be the one that works best for all parties involved.
Knicks receive: Joel Embiid, Buddy Hield, and P.J. Tucker
Sixers receive: Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, Myles Turner, and Evan Fournier, one 2024 first-round pick and one 2025 first-round pick (via New York)
Pacers receive: Mitchell Robinson, Tobias Harris, two 2024 first-round picks (via New York)
For the Knicks, moving on from Randle and Evan Fournier is almost inevitable, and if they add the 2023 NBA MVP as they do so it's a win for them. Furthermore, while they lose two valuable pieces in Quickley and Mitchell Robinson, the first thing to note is that Robinson loses a lot of value with Embiid at center.
Secondly, Buddy Hield enhances the Knicks' offense in a way that Immanuel Quickley doesn't, as his ability to bombard teams from beyond the arc gives them a better chance at keeping pace with — or taking down — teams in this era of basketball.
Adding the invaluable leadership, experience and defensive prowess of 2021 NBA champion P.J. Tucker will pay dividends as well.
For the Sixers, the ability to replace a pivot that was a perennial All-Star in Embiid with a multi-time All-Star in Randle and two-time block champion Myles Turner is ideal. Furthermore, while getting off of the massive $39.1 million contract of Tobias Harris, they manage to add a backcourt mate for Tyrese Maxey that can replace James Harden.
Quickley may not be the facilitator that Harden is, but he is younger, healthier and has plenty of scoring upside.
The Pacers enhance their defense by swapping out Hield for Tobias Harris though, while also addressing a long-standing position of need with a veteran that's averaged 17.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the past four seasons while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range.
As it stands today, Harris would be heads above former first-round pick Jalen Smith, who averaged 9.4 points per game and shot 23.8 percent from 3 in the 2022-23 regular season while entering the season as Indiana's starting power forward.
Robinson allows them to keep a shot-blocking specialist starting at center though, allowing the Pacers' perimeter pieces to play aggressively on the defensive end because of their confidence in Robinson's ability to clean up after them.
Not that they would be wrong, as Robinson has yet to average fewer than 1.5 blocks per game in the regular season or playoffs.
The pair of first-round picks that they receive from the Knicks simply takes into account the effect that losing Hield in particular might have on their offense.
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