Philadelphia 76ers: CJ McCollum could be the missing championship piece

Could CJ McCollum be a missing championship piece for the Philadelphia 76ers? 

Even though there doesn’t appear to be a robust trade market for Ben Simmons, or at least that’s what’s being reported, the overall belief is that the Philadelphia 76ers will eventually trade Ben Simmons. And likely before the start of the season.

One interesting scenario that has likely garnered perhaps too much attention is a CJ McCollum (and fillers) for Simmons swap. The Portland Trail Blazers are in desperate need of a roster shakeup and McCollum would actually fit with what the Sixers need.

However, the big question surrounding such a swap would entail what the impact would such a move have on the Sixers’ roster and chances of being a contender in the Eastern Conference this season.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

• Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
• NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
• Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
• Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
• NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24

Would swapping McCollum for Simmons be a net positive or negative for the Philadelphia 76ers?

One of the bigger issues is whether or not McCollum’s potential impact on the offensive end will outweigh Simmons’ versatility defensively.

For as good as Simmons was on the defensive end, he wasn’t exactly a star-stopping force. He is versatile and a good individual defender, but never changed the complexity of the series due to his prowess on that end of the floor. Not saying that he can’t be that type of player, just that he wasn’t thus far for the Sixers.

So while losing Simmons will certainly hurt the team’s overall defense, I’m not sure it will to the level that many believe. At the same rate, if the Sixers can’t replicate the playmaking ability of Simmons, it could prove to be debilitating.

Simmons averaged seven assists per game last season, more than double than the second-leading assist man on the team. Swapping McCollum for Simmons would help solve the secondary scoring issues that the team has faced recently, but could leave a big hole in terms of a primary playmaker.

Without another corresponding move, it would effectively leave the Sixers without a legit point guard – Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton would be the only other point guards on the roster, and neither of them seems to be pass-first guards.

Of course, we can’t discount McCollum’s playmaking ability – he averaged nearly five assists per game last season – but that comes a bit easier playing next to such an offensive threat in the backcourt such as Damian Lillard.

Either way, there is a path to believing that adding McCollum could help lead the Sixers to the NBA Finals, assuming that they can figure out a way to replace Simmons’ playmaking impact.

Embiid has not played with another guard with the scoring prowess of McCollum thus far in his playing career and it could help him unlock his overall impact for the team. If Embiid can get to a place where he’s not having to account for all the heavy lifting on the offensive end, I can’t help but imagine that he will be able to take the final step in his progression towards one of the five best players in the league.

And, perhaps, in the process could help deliver an NBA championship to the Sixers. But it all begins with the team moving away from Simmons. And there might not be a better and more plausible target than McCollum.