The Lakers’ need for a traditional big man in the center position became clear after Rudy Gobert destroyed them in Game 5 of the Timberwolves series. Despite the NBA world looking at the free agent market for their solution, Bill Simmons believes the Lakers need to enter the trade market to potentially get Joel Embiid, a former MVP, to fill in that role.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Simmons proposed the Lakers could land Joel Embiid in a trade without giving a core piece (Austin Reaves) in return. While initially discussing a potential move for Reaves, Simmons said, “I think Reaves at $14-15 [Million], you throw in some expiring with him, you could get some really good players at that point.”
When his co-host brought up a potential trade for Embiid, Simmons said the Lakers may not have to include Austin Reaves in that trade. Simmons deemed it a “get out of jail free card” for the Sixers, looking at the problems they have faced with Embiid. “We’ll give you all our expiring and a first (round pick) and we’ll get you out of the Joel Embiid business. Here’s your ‘get out of jail free’ card right now; you don’t have to deal with him anymore.”, he added.
“That’s my favourite Lakers move: all their expiring and two first-round picks and they get Embiid— Reaves isn’t in it, he’s not in it. You don’t even get Reaves. We don’t know if Embiid is ever playing again. I’m like I’ll take Embiid, you can have one of our first-round picks, and here’s some bunch of expirings,” he concluded.
What Would A ‘Joel Embiid To The Lakers’ Trade Look Like?
Simmons suggested that the Lakers throw in all of their expiring contracts and at most two first-round picks for Embiid. Here’s what a potential trade like that could look like:
Philadelphia 76ers get: Rui Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, and 1 first-round pick (2030)
Los Angeles Lakers get: Joel Embiid
While this trade seems financially sound, there are a few things both teams will have to keep in mind. The 76ers will need to waive 3 players to make room for these players on their roster. Trading them back to the Lakers is not an option, as the Lakers will go beyond the second apron if they take on any more contracts other than Embiid. The Lakers will have to sign 3 players on a minimum contract, as they require at least 12 players on their roster.
With the Lakers looking to build their future around Luka Doncic, Embiid is a sound investment for a win-now team, i.e, in the short term. However, the former MVP comes with several risks for the Lakers. Ever since his rookie season, which was also delayed due to injury, Embiid has been plagued by injuries. As a result, while he may have won a regular-season MVP award, it has never yielded any fruit for the 76ers in the Playoffs. The 76ers have not gone beyond the second round in any year when Embiid was on the roster. Even in his MVP season (2022-23), Embiid was a no-show during Game 7 of their series with the Celtics.
He missed most of this season due to several injuries, including a troubling left knee and a sinus fracture. While he only missed a week due to the sinus fracture, the left knee had recurring problems throughout the season. He played only 19 games this season, where he averaged 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. On Feb 28, Embiid was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to being “medically unable to play”.
These injury concerns have severely lowered the asking price for a trade, including the former MVP. However, they also become a deterrent factor for any team like the Lakers to even consider a move for him. Moreover, he’s not an athletic lob threat, and his failure to perform well with Harden proves his fit may not work well with Doncic (since Harden and Doncic have a very similar style of play).
In my opinion, the Lakers could trade for Embiid, only if they don’t include Austin Reaves in the discussion. Then maybe he’s a risk worth taking because a healthy Embiid is a force of nature with the basketball. However, considering the Lakers have limited assets to build their future, trading them away would be a massive hit for the Lakers if Embiid fails to fit with Doncic after the potential move. The cons weigh out the pros here for Embiid, and the Lakers will likely not make this move.
