Tobias Takers?

 

Advertisement

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Tobias Harris’ name has indeed circulated in those trade conversations, sources told B/R. The Sixers insist they’re not actively searching to offload the final two years and roughly $80 million remaining on Harris’ contract. But Philadelphia’s only player considered untouchable is Embiid and Embiid alone.

The Sixers have broached the idea of sending out Harris in various three-team packages, in the event that a Simmons trade brings back another highly compensated player such as Collins who’s best positioned at power forward just like Harris. Another example in that concept: Harrison Barnes could be part of any potential Sacramento package.

Finding any deal that includes Harris, though, would take quite a bit of cap gymnastics. As the Lakers have found with Russell Westbrook, there aren’t many players in the NBA who make north of $30 million and are available for trade.

John Wall seems entrenched in Houston with zero inclination to accept any type of buyout, sources said. And while Kevin Love entered this season open to trade scenarios, the veteran has played an integral reserve role during Cleveland’s surprise season and has enjoyed the Cavaliers’ new playoff-chasing environment, one source familiar with Love told B/R.

A team could stack contracts to match Harris’ lofty number, but the more likely scenario has Simmons staying in Philadelphia past the deadline, short of a new trade candidate emerging. The 76ers do not view holding onto Simmons as punting on a season of Embiid’s prime, a common criticism made by rival front offices. Philadelphia brass, sources told B/R, is still optimistic that Simmons may even be willing to return to game action in that event, although league personnel familiar with Simmons’ side believe he has no interest in ever wearing a Sixers uniform again.

McCollum’s Market

 

Advertisement

Craig Mitchelldyer/Associated Press

Lillard’s absence should also introduce another seller into a trade market otherwise overcrowded with buyers. It seems Blazers personnel had originally planned to improve their roster around Lillard rather than bottom out for a top draft pick.

Portland and Indiana seemed to be natural trade partners, two small-market teams underperforming based on preseason expectations but with a current shared goal of contending for the postseason. The Blazers had been frequently mentioned by league sources as a strong Myles Turner destination, while Detroit’s Jerami Grant also emerged as a potential Portland target. But if Lillard is indefinitely sidelined, that would seem to further increase the likelihood of Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington heading elsewhere.

Anfernee Simons’ recent explosion also has league executives chattering about the future of CJ McCollum in Portland, and to a lesser extent that of Norman Powell. Simons is headed for a lucrative restricted free agency this summer, and Portland is already trying to evade paying the luxury tax.

Assessing the interest for McCollum is somewhat difficult given his recent collapsed lung and a decline in production at the age of 30. But former GM Neil Olshey’s regime valued McCollum quite highly, and there’s a sense among some rival executives that McCollum would have a sizable market at a lower evaluation than Olshey may have held.

Norman Powell’s Feelings About Portland

 

Amanda Loman/Associated Press

Roughly a dozen teams pursued Powell ahead of last season’s deadline, when Portland acquired him from Toronto. The 28-year-old’s five-year, $90 million contract is considered relatively valuable among several league personnel polled by B/R.

There’s some belief that Powell would be open to a new destination. Negotiations over his five-year deal to re-sign in Portland this summer hit several snags, according to league sources, and Powell certainly eyed other destinations, such as New Orleans. The Pelicans do happen to be searching for significant upgrades in their quest to rebound into the play-in tournament, sources said, although McCollum would seem to make more sense as a target for New Orleans.