Over the last week, a trade rumor has been going around that involved Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The trade included Detroit sending over the number one pick for Gilgeous-Alexander and the number six pick. Although this is just speculation, it’s still an insane rumor that has yet to be proven true. OKC would be wise not to consider that trade for multiple reasons: Gilgeous-Alexander is a budding all star who’s only 22 and the sixth overall pick is still going to land them an insanely promising prospect. Cade Cunningham is more than likely going to go first overall and trading Gilgeous-Alexander (slower paced, possession guard with extreme efficiency) for Cunningham (slower paced, possession guard) wouldn’t be ideal.
Thinking about the trade scenario between Detroit and OKC, it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. If OKC is willing to try and trade up for a higher draft pick, they should part with future picks instead of throwing in their best player. Since OKC has over 600,000 draft picks for the next 39 years, they could have some leverage here with their superior draft capital. Going back to the initial trade proposal, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for OKC. Detroit would be fleecing them beyond comprehension. They’d be getting a top tier guard in Shai and obtaining another extremely good draft pick in a deep class. Detroit already has Isaiah Stewart, Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey as their core pieces right now too which is looking quite promising for them.
As Kemba Walker is looking to get traded sooner rather than later, there’s another rumor that he could be headed to Philly. The 76ers are seeing some demons right now in the form of Ben Simmons’ shooting abilities, so changes need to be made. Philly could move Simmons to the four which would make Tobias Harris expendable. Here’s a possible trade: Walker and two firsts for Harris. How will this benefit both teams?
Trading an injury-prone and older Walker for Harris actually makes sense for OKC. Due to the surplus of picks, it shouldn’t make a dent in their future plans. Plus, getting Kemba off the books would help with their financial flexibility. It’s not like they’re struggling from there anyways but anything helps. Plus, getting an excellent trade asset in Harris would help them garner more picks/prospects. If they were to keep him, however, he would make an excellent veteran presence with a fun skillset.
For Philly, moving Simmons to the four could help them with their spacing issues. Simmons is known to crack under pressure in the playoffs so he hinders them greatly. His offensive struggles were on major display in the Atlanta series so Philly’s front office is looking for answers. Giving them a reliable (although inefficient at times) scorer in Walker would help them out. Adding the first round picks would also be important in case Kemba gets injured again. Adding that insurance policy to this trade offer could result in this caliber of a trade being pulled off very soon. We’re going to be watching this situation unfold in the coming months.
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