Could a young star PG become unexpectedly available for the Phoenix Suns this summer?

What might a trade look like?

Regardless of which of the two stars James Jones would target on the Sixers’ roster, the package of players and picks he would offer would be relatively the same regardless.

Obviously Devin Booker would be off-limits in trade, and Deandre Ayton does not make any sense for Philadelphia to acquire as he would just be redundant alongside Embiid.

Ricky Rubio would have to be in the swap for obvious reasons (Phoenix would no longer need him with the in-coming Simmons, and the 76ers would still need a starting point guard), while Kelly Oubre would be the obvious next best piece to sent given both his age and team-friendly contract.

With Tyler Johnson, Aron Baynes, and Dario Saric each coming off of the books this summer though, James Jones will have a lot of cap space to work with and use to acquire larger contracts.

Philadelphia doesn’t really have an albatross contract that they’d want to rid themselves of per se, however, they hypothetically could ease themselves off of Al Horford’s deal, dumping him off to the Phoenix Suns as well providing their management with more flexibility this summer – and who knows: maybe even a run at a particular name in the 2021 free agency class.

The Suns would obviously offer their 2020 first round pick, unprotected, while also handing over a 2022 unprotected first as well – albeit, not nearly as enticing considering that Phoenix should  be significantly better.

All and all, a trade could look something  like this:

Cameron Johnson gives Philadelphia another shooter (and really, I was also just trying to add anything  the Phoenix Suns could potentially offer to sweeten the deal for a young star point guard), while the 76ers’ immediate return is focused get Oubre (who would probably fit better in the slower Eastern Conference) as well as some cap flexibility to try and continue to and depth, while Josh Richardson likely opens up even more as a scorer with added responsibility.

With this move, Philadelphia becomes significantly smaller with Harris moving exclusively to the four, Oubre slotting in at the three, and Ricky Rubio setting up the offense.

Certainly a deal could potentially be had for just Simmons that pretty much looks exactly the same (and is obviously too far  more likely – I am just working off of the assumption that Horford did not work out and that they would want to drop his remaining $81 million over the next three years), and, a third team could be added somehow to further funnel assets Philadelphia’s way to further help offset the loss of Al Horford.

For the fun of it, the Phoenix Suns’ starting lineup opening night next season would look a lot like this:

PG – Ben Simmons
SG – Devin Booker
SF – Mikal Bridges
PF – Al Horford
C – Deandre Ayton

If the Philadelphia 76ers really do get antsy with their young core duo should they be eliminated from the first round or even fail to make it beyond the second round again, the Phoenix Suns can offer them a bit of a reset with a deal for Ben Simmons, while also themselves finally stacking the roster around Booker and Ayton.

While this is all admittedly a long-shot, with free agency not the best opportunity for James Jones to bolster the roster, swinging a trade for a star who at the moment wouldn’t necessarily be expected to be moved, will be the team’s best bet for a significant upgrade – and Ben Simmons might also be the perfect target should he become available.