The Philadelphia 76ers are a team looking to bounce back from a very tough 2019-20 season where they completely fell short of any expectations that they had for themselves. The team made big moves in the 2019 offseason and they fell short falling in Round 1 to the Boston Celtics.
One of those moves in that offseason was to bring in veteran Al Horford on a 4-year $109 million deal and he turned out to be a bad fit on the roster. When he was able to play center, he looked like the player the Sixers were expecting. However, a majority of the time, he had to play power forward next to Joel Embiid and the fit there was disastrous on the offensive end.
In a new trade suggestion by Bleacher Report, they have the Sixers moving Horford and the number 21 pick in this 2020 draft to the Houston Rockets for Eric Gordon and Danuel House Jr. This was actually the type of deal discussed on The Bell Ringer Podcast and it does make some sense.
B/R on the deal:
The 6’9″ Horford might have more to offer Houston. He could increase the team’s size without sabotaging its spacing or switchability on defense. His contract might make Space City queasy, but at least it’s only fully guaranteed for two more seasons and would come attached to a first-round pick in a quietly deep draft.
The 76ers would admit their jumbo experiment isn’t working and pivot away from it to address needs for shooting and shot-creation. If the good Gordon ever resurfaces, he’d bring with him off-the-dribble attacking, spot-up sniping and defensive pliability. House’s three-and-D game is subtle, but Philly doesn’t need flash alongside its stars.
Gordon had a down year in 2019-20 as he shot only 31.7% from deep on 8.4 attempts, but he is a guy who will fit much better on this roster. He is a career 37.0% shooter from deep and he is an underrated perimeter defender. If he can bounce back, he would be a nice get for Philadelphia. House Jr. shot 36.3% from deep and he showed off an ability to spot up from deep.
As for why Houston would acquire Horford, they clearly need some size now. They tried to play center-less basketball and it worked to some extent as they forced the Los Angeles Lakers to play at their style in the semifinals, but they still need a guy who can hold it down in the low post and around the basket. Horford can do a lot of good things for the Rockets and give them some size against Anthony Davis and others in the West.
