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The Philadelphia 76ers have had a busy offseason with the firing of Doc Rivers and hiring of ex-Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. The James Harden situation took a turn when he opted into his $35.6 million contract for 2023-24 and requested a trade. Now, Damian Lillard also just asked for a trade, and the Sixers reportedly have some level of interest despite Dame's desire to go to the Miami Heat.
The Sixers apparently don't want to include Tyrese Maxey in a trade offer to acquire Lillard. Perhaps that stance would change if Lillard signaled he would be okay with a trade to Philly and Maxey was needed to get a deal done, but for now, it seems the Sixers don't want to trade away their young star.
A three-way trade to get Lillard would be the most plausible because James Harden or Tobias Harris are a terrible fit with Portland's current direction. With that in mind, the perfect Sixers trade offer in a Lillard trade would include Harden and P.J. Tucker, but the Blazers would not be the final landing spot for Harden and possibly Tucker as well. Moving Harden to an organization like the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Clippers would be a better fit because Portland would want future assets/draft capital rather than proven veterans, especially with The Beard likely wanting no part of being there.
For the Sixers, Damian Lillard would be a perfect replacement for James Harden as a Joel Embiid co-star. From Embiid's perspective, he would feel that the front office is doing everything possible to keep him happy and put Philadelphia as a legitimate contender for the NBA championship. Even if Lillard is another scoring guard like Harden, Dame's repertoire and style fits better with Embiid's approach.
Lillard has the killer mentality in the biggest moments, which separates him from a large group of individuals like Harden. Furthermore, he has shown signs of feeding his teammates when they are cooking, such as CJ McCollum's stellar performance in Game 7 of the 2019 West Semis against the Denver Nuggets. After McCollum's departure, Lillard needed to be more assertive, but it does not mean that he is selfish as the shot creator of the team's offense.
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At some junctures last season, Embiid was mentioning that they lost some games because he lacked post touches in the endgame. That would not happen with Lillard because he possesses leadership attributes that would maximize Embiid's talent, especially in the clutch. While crunch time is usually Dame Time, the Lillard-Embiid duo would give the Sixers two incredible options when it matters. They could play off each other and make life extremely difficult for opposing defenses.
Losing James Harden would not hurt much for the Sixers because he is hoping to get traded anyways. Maybe if Philly was able to get Lillard without including Harden he would be more inclined to stay, but The Beard might not want to share those backcourt touches with Dame anyway. A backcourt of Lillard and Tyrese Maxey would have some trouble on the defensive end, so Nurse would need to mitigate this particular weakness. Patrick Beverley will be a huge boost on defense, but they will still need a couple of wings who thrive on the defensive side of the floor.
The Philadelphia fan base might be wondering why P.J. Tucker is part of the package, and the primary reason is because he has a $11.5 million player option for 2024-25 at 39 years of age, so the 76ers must avoid overpaying for an aging role player.
The tandem of Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard would increase the Sixers' ceiling as a serious NBA championship contender, so they must at least explore this trade option.
