Getty Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
A new option may have just potentially emerged for the Philadelphia 76ers. Following the report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Josh Robbins that NBA star Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards are working together to trade him to a new team, the Sixers could look into acquiring him.
However, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia refuted the notion that the Sixers would pursue Beal because of what would have to be offered along with the restrictions of the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“It’s my understanding the Sixers probably will not be a suitor for Bradley Beal. He has a big contract for a lot of money & with the new CBA with aprons that does not allow for much flexibility for roster building. And Sixers believe Tyrese Maxey can be an All-Star caliber player,” Clark said via his personal Twitter.
Even if the Sixers were interested in Beal, he has a no-trade clause, meaning that he gets to decide whether a trade goes through or not. On top of that, Beal will be owed $46.7 million, so the Sixers would have to combine quite a few contracts to make a potential trade for Beal work.
Proposed Trade Sends Sixers Bradley Beal & Tobias Harris
On June 1, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that would not only send Beal to the Sixers but also send some additional help from the Wizards.
Swartz proposed the following trade.
Washington Wizards Receive: G Tyrese Maxey, F Tobias Harris, SG Furkan Korkmaz, F Danuel House Jr., 2029 first-round pick
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: SG Bradley Beal, F Kyle Kuzma (via sign-and-trade)
Swartz explained why the Sixers would potentially look into trading for Beal.
“With a new front office in Washington, we could finally see a Beal trade after 11 years with the franchise.
“This deal only goes down if James Harden leaves the 76ers in free agency, opening up the need for another All-Star guard to join the backcourt. Beal and Kuzma restock the Sixers with talent around Joel Embiid, keeping them in the title hunt,” Swartz wrote.
Since it appears the Sixers are content with keeping Maxey for the long haul, it appears a deal like this won’t come to fruition unless anything changes in the front office.
Russell Westbrook Mentioned as James Harden Replacement
With the possibility of Harden’s departure looming, The Athletic’s Danny Leroux named former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook as a possible option the Sixers could look into as Harden’s replacement.
Leroux listed the Sixers as one of the “high-end teams looking for guard depth” that could be interested in Westbrook. He also included that the Sixers should only look into adding Westbrook if Harden leaves.
Leroux added what kind of position would be available to Westbrook this summer.
“There does not appear to be another franchise likely to offer a starting spot (or starter money), but there could be young rosters and possibly playoff-caliber teams offering a third-guard role.”
A starting point guard slot for Westbrook could open up if Harden leaves the Sixers. Better yet, if Harden departs and the Sixers change their mind about trading for Bradley Beal, a potential backcourt could feasibly replace Harden’s loss since Beal and Westbrook have experience playing together as they did on the Wizards during the 2020-21 season.
