NBA Offseason 2020: 5 potential landing spots for Chris Paul
4. Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers simultaneously need to put complementary talent around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons while also shedding the deadweight contracts of Al Horford and Tobias Harris in order to do so. Paul’s contract isn’t easy for any team to stomach, but if the Sixers are determined, they can at least throw a myriad of s**t at OKC’s wall and see what sticks.
Getting someone who can playmake but also shoot off the ball when Simmons is in command of the rock would be a godsend, especially if it gets rid of Horford’s positional overlap with Embiid. The cost, of course, would be the 27-year-old Josh Richardson (who’d be a phenomenal two-way addition for Presti) and the 21st overall pick in this year’s draft.
If the Thunder have no interest in Horford due to the three years and $81 million remaining on his deal, not to mention his overlap with Steven Adams, the Sixers will try to pivot to Tobias Harris — the slightly more valuable player, but the far pricier one in terms of salary.
Harris is owed a whopping $147.3 million over the next four seasons, which could detonate any potential deal if Presti doesn’t see a long-term future for him in Oklahoma City. But he’s also still only 28 years old and has gotten better almost every season. Even in a down year, Harris still averaged 19.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game on .471/.367/.806 shooting splits last season.
In terms of additional assets, sharpshooter Furkan Korkmaz on a minimum deal and Philly’s 2022 first-rounder is one potential option. If the Thunder don’t like that, the Sixers could counter with something like Shake Milton and their 21st overall selection this year.
This deal having legs depends on whether the Thunder are okay with taking on either Tobias Harris or Al Horford — very good players with very bad contracts. If they’re not, the dreams of a Doc Rivers reunion and CP3 bringing some semblance of balance to Philadelphia’s disjointed offense won’t ever see the light of day.