The trade price for the Boston Celtics to land the Association’s reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, was guessed by NBA Analysis Network’s Alaa Alarashi to be marquee offseason addition Kristaps Porzingis and aging vet Al Horford, who already has an unsuccessful run with the Philadelphia 76ers under his belt.
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“Boston could make some serious headlines by considering Embiid as a trade target,” Alarashi prefaced before saying, “They will have one of the most skilled big men in the league while still being able to retain Tatum and Brown. They would have to give up fan favorite Al Horford and also Porzingis for this to work. However, that might be a small sacrifice to make to get Boston another championship banner.”
This trade would need to wait until next offseason at the earliest after Porzingis’s recently signed extension. Would the C’s front office go for it? And would the Sixers’?
The Boston Celtics would say yes but the Sixers couldn’t say no soon enough
Trading for Embiid while keeping Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is simply an impossibility. Embiid is one of the top five needle-movers in the league and may not be hardwired to sit out if Philadelphia fails to find a good trade for him.
Porzingis and Horford definitely don’t qualify as such, even with a high number of future draft picks attached to their pacts.
Philadelphia would have the chance to re-shape their franchise in an Embiid deal and, at minimum, should be pursuing a Kevin Durant-like return that the Brooklyn Nets got from the Phoenix Suns at the 2023 trade deadline. Not an injury-prone big man who led his team to a mediocre — which is the worst adjective in the NBA — record in a weak Eastern Conference.
Depending on what happens with James Harden, the Sixers may be in a position to add another star to its capsheet, not subtract. Celtics fans need not hold their breath for any blockbuster involving Embiid anytime soon.