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What if?
It is essentially the most fascinating of all NBA inquiries, a query that may ship franchises and their fanbases into 1,000,000 completely different emotional instructions.
It is also the explanation we’re right here, as Thursday evening’s matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers brings one in every of basketball’s largest what-if situations in current reminiscence to the forefront.
Each may look dramatically completely different now had the practically accomplished James Harden-for-Ben Simmons swap come to fruition final season. It clearly did not, although, as Harden wound up in Brooklyn, and Simmons stayed in Philly—for now, at the least.
However it’s onerous not to consider what may have been, so let’s revisit these commerce talks and 4 of the opposite most vital near-blockbusters of the final 5 years.
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Earlier than the New Orleans Pelicans routed Jrue Vacation to the Milwaukee Bucks in November 2020—a commerce that accomplished the Bucks’ Huge Three and helped propel them to the 2021 title—they first shopped the two-way combo guard to the Portland Path Blazers.
New Orleans sought scoring guard CJ McCollum and three first-round picks in return, per The Athletic’s Jason Quick. The scribe cited former Blazers’ decision-maker Neil Olshey’s affinity for McCollum as one of many largest barricades to the blockbuster-that-wasn’t.
That rationale would not maintain water, as Vacation’s defensive versatility and skill to play on or off the ball are precisely what Portland wants alongside Damian Lillard within the backcourt. Having stated that, the Blazers’ decision-makers ought to be glad this deal by no means went down, since their slide to a sub-.400 successful proportion—mixed with Lillard’s uncertain future—may make these draft picks ultra-valuable.
New Orleans, in the meantime, wound up transferring Vacation to Milwaukee in a four-team commerce that netted the Pelicans two future firsts, two first-round swaps, Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe. Whereas Adams and Bledsoe have each moved on, that may be preferable to the Pelicans nonetheless paying McCollum, who could be a backcourt improve however would not change the actual fact this membership can not compete with out a wholesome Zion Williamson.
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Final season, the Los Angeles Lakers new they wanted a carry. Nicely, a number of of them, truly. Additionally they knew who may present them: Kyle Lowry, who may perk up their playmaking, improve their perimeter capturing and bulk up their point-of-attack protection. As icing on the cake, he even had the veteran know-how to seamlessly transition to a brand new group midseason.
The Lakers talked Lowry trades with the Toronto Raptors and neared an trade involving Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and “doubtless some draft compensation,” per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Bill Oram. The issue was the Raptors wished then-sophomore swingman Talen Horton-Tucker, and that request proved too wealthy for the Lakers’ blood.
On the time, the hoops world’s response was a collective “Huh?!” Horton-Tucker wasn’t mild on promise and intrigue, however what good have been these to a bunch piloted by late-career LeBron James? His groups have been graded on the championship-or-bust scale for years, and the win-right-now directive has solely elevated the deeper he probes into his 30s.
However Lowry went nowhere, and the Lakers successfully did not both. They have been knocked out of the primary spherical by the Phoenix Suns with Horton-Tucker logging L.A.’s Tenth-most minutes within the sequence.
The Lakers in the end added Russell Westbrook at level guard over the summer season, and that expensive funding has but to ship any promising returns. In the meantime, Lowry has appeared because the lacking piece in James’ outdated stomping grounds down in South Seaside.
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You know the way the pursuits of NBA superstars all the time wind up labeled as sweepstakes? Nicely, someplace the Boston Celtics have stockpiled a variety of silver medals and participation trophies from earlier chases that produced a variety of rumors however by no means truly landed a star in Beantown.
That was maybe most clearly evident within the 2018 conflict for Kawhi Leonard, because the two-way famous person uninterested in the San Antonio Spurs and instantly vaulted atop everybody’s record of commerce targets. The Shamrocks, in the meantime, had the chance to place the perfect provide on the desk, however they balked at together with a high commerce chip.
“They may have made a deal for Kawhi Leonard—my understanding, from form of each side of this—involving Jaylen Brown and Marcus Good,” Sports activities Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix reported in 2019 (h/t NBC Sports). “A minimum of Jaylen Brown because the centerpiece of all of it.”
Ought to Boston need a mulligan on this resolution? Sure and no.
If the Celtics have been apprehensive Leonard would not be the identical after successfully dropping a season to harm, they merely guessed flawed. He cracked the All-NBA and All-Defensive second groups instantly after this non-trade, rewarding the Toronto Raptors with their first world title for having the heart to go get him.
If Boston thought too extremely of Brown to offer him up, that is a extra defensible stance. He might by no means be as dominant as Leonard, however Brown has carved his personal path to two-way stardom.
If the Celtics have been merely scared off by Leonard’s unsure future—he solely had one season left on his contract on the time—that is inconceivable to research, even with hindsight. Perhaps Boston may have satisfied him to remain and kind a championship trio with Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum. Or maybe each Leonard and Irving would’ve bounced at season’s finish and spiraled the Celtics right into a rebuild.
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Within the shadows of their defeat within the 2017 Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers aimed toward an bold overhaul. The three-team swap, which got here “shut” to completion, per The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd, would have introduced Paul George and Eric Bledsoe to Cleveland, Kyrie Irving and Channing Frye to the Phoenix Suns and Iman Shumpert, Jared Dudley and the No. 4 decide of that 12 months’s draft to the Indiana Pacers.
Guess what torpedoed the commerce talks? The Suns’ resistance attributable to their need to maintain the decide and spend it on Josh Jackson, per ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan. Go determine. Historical past will grade that call as an “LOL!!!!” as Jackson was out and in of the desert in solely two seasons, and Phoenix wanted to connect a number of sweeteners (together with De’Anthony Melton) to get off his rookie deal.
The Cavs fail the hindsight evaluation, too. George would’ve been an ideal co-star for LeBron James, and Bledsoe may’ve plugged a few of their defensive leaks on the perimeter. Who is aware of, possibly the impression of their arrivals may’ve satisfied James to not hightail it to Hollywood the next summer season.
However George and Bledsoe by no means got here. Irving, upset in regards to the commerce talks, per Lloyd, later requested out and was moved for a lesser package deal constructed round a hobbled Isaiah Thomas and the draft decide that ultimately grew to become Collin Sexton. James did not have a cause to stay round Northeast Ohio any longer.
The one group that benefited from the nixed talks was Indiana, which wound up turning George into Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis that very same summer season. In fact, for the reason that Pacers weren’t those to kibosh these talks, it is onerous to say they aced the non-exchange when their calculations stated Josh Jackson—or whomever they might’ve focused at No. 4—and filler was ample compensation for Paul freakin’ George.
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When Harden hit the commerce market final season, the 76ers have been both his most reasonable suitor or amongst a small group of golf equipment on the high. They wanted a fringe shot-creator to open up their assault—notably one adept at working within the half-court offense that fits Joel Embiid greatest—that they had a high, younger commerce chip in Simmons and so they have been run by Daryl Morey, the manager answerable for bringing the Beard to Area Metropolis.
A deal sending Harden to Philly was so near the end line that Simmons and Matisse Thybulle have been each knowledgeable by their brokers to anticipate the commerce, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However for no matter cause, the Houston Rockets bypassed that package deal—which included a pair of first-round picks, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania—and despatched Harden to Brooklyn as a substitute.
What occurred? The best hypothesis is that Rockets governor Tilman Fertitta put his foot down and refused to do enterprise along with his former high decision-maker. Nevertheless, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon provided another tackle the Hoop Collective podcast (h/t Rockets Wire):
“There’s been a variety of dialogue in regards to the Morey dynamic, nevertheless it merely got here all the way down to this. The Rockets felt like, ‘If we’re buying and selling James Harden, this can be a full-fledged rebuild, and Ben Simmons will not be the centerpiece of a rebuild.’ … They didn’t really feel like he was a ‘construct your franchise round this man’ form of participant.”
Have been the Rockets proper in that evaluation? That will depend on your view of Simmons. His reluctance to shoot is a big hindrance, nevertheless it would not overshadow what he brings as a five-position stopper and jumbo-sized playmaker. It is also potential he’d be much more dynamic with a roster tailor-made to his strengths versus being the sq. peg within the spherical gap that’s Philly’s Embiid-centric blueprint.
For the Sixers, Harden stays the one which acquired away, though Philadelphia hasn’t abandoned that pursuit. With no Harden or Simmons, who’s awaiting his commerce want to be granted, the 76ers have predictably taken a step again and grow to be overly reliant on Embiid as their singular star.
The Nets married themselves to championship-or-bust evaluations with the Harden swap, which is arguably the place they already have been with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Accidents and absences have stored this membership from exhibiting its full potential, and there is a danger one or each of Irving and Harden do not hassle sticking round subsequent summer season. Having stated that, it is onerous to knock anybody for betting large on championship-caliber expertise.
The Rockets, in the meantime, have not obtained a lot of the pick-heavy package deal they in the end selected, so their grade may keep incomplete for the foreseeable future—even when the choice so as to add (the since traded away) Victor Oladipo stays a head-scratcher.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Comply with him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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