This longshot proposed trade for Joel Embiid would have the Los Angeles Lakers back in the championship picture.
As a big NBA offseason looms for the Los Angeles Lakers, upgrading the frontcourt will be one of the bigger priorities for the team. If they want to reemerge next season as a championship contender, that has to be close to the top of their to-do list this summer. Polarizing NBA personality, Bill Simmons, had one trade idea that would find the Lakers right back in the championship picture.
This deal would revolve around the Lakers acquiring Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason. Los Angeles would add one of the best centers (and overall players) in the league to an area of need. This move would also help the team add another star player to take the load off the shoulders of Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Here's what the proposed trade (by Simmons) of Embiid to the Lakers would look like:
To be clear, the actual proposed trade by Simmons was the Lakers' expiring contracts and two first-round picks. Because the Lakers only have one trade-eligible first-round pick, this would have to be extended to a multi-team trade so the Lakers can find another first-round pick to send to Philly.
That could probably be easily accomplished by sending Hachimura or one Dalton Knecht to a third team to secure that extra first-round pick. But, still, you can't help but wonder why the Sixers would have much motivation to make such a deal.
Why this Joel Embiid to Lakers trade is extremely unlikely
The only way I could envision the Sixers making this deal is if they either finish with a top 3 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, opening the door to lean more into their youth movement, or if the front office believes that Embiid's knees are cooked or if they're tired of the "will he play or won't he play" questions.
Even though the last few years have had to have been frustrating for the Sixers on the Embiid front, I'm not sure the team is ready to throw in the towel on him. And if the Sixers were to get extremely lucky in the lottery, I'd imagine the Sixers would much rather use the talented rookie to see if they could help the Embiid blueprint, even if it is just a one or two-year experiment.
Plus, even if the Sixers did want to trade Embiid, you'd have to imagine that the return would be much better than just expiring contracts and two future first-round picks. And if that were the case, the Lakers would probably find themselves outbid.
But if this trade were to come to fruition for one reason or another, the Lakers would immediately emerge as legit championship contenders in the Western Conference. If the Lakers were to find a way to build a big 3 of Luka, LeBron, and Embiid, that'd be a tough force, health permitting, to stop. At least for now, that may not be all that likely. But as often is the case in the NBA, things can change at any given moment.