Who would the Phoenix Suns target?
While it is certainly far more likely that Philadelphia management attempts to move on from either Al Horford or Tobias Harris first, their two most expensive players (Horford being 33-years-old and Harris being 27), it is also more likely that they attempt to trade Joel Embiid before Ben Simmons and try their hand at the small ball revolution that the league has moved unapologetically toward.
When Ben Simmons’ max contract kicks in after this season, all four members of their primary core will be on max or near max contracts, making additional moves far more unlikely as they will be cap strapped, locking that core together for better or worse.
And after three seasons of 51 wins and early playoff knock outs, at least for that franchise, it might be more towards the worse.
According to a league executive quoted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, while moving either Harris or Horford will not bring back the kind of equal return that they would prefer, moving either Embiid or Simmons can get them a lot more.
The question by general managers around the league then would be: who would they prefer to potentially acquire? The center, or the point guard?
For a Phoenix Suns team already with a center, Ben Simmons would look mighty enticing.