We're still twiddling our thumbs, so why not throw out some more wild speculation. It's a stressful time and it's not like the FanPost section is getting much use these days anyways -- it's currently flooded with bs advertisement-posts from a Magic PR spam account.
So here we go, a 3-team trade that I kept thinking was lopsided, but looking at each team somehow doesn't seem so? I think that makes it interesting and decent.
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Kings get: Al Horford, Aaron Gordon
76ers get: Harrison Barnes, Terrence Ross, Cory Joseph
Magic get: Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle
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76ers Perspective:
The 76ers are looking to compete. Thybulle is a defensive pest, but still very limited on offense. He may grow into that, but it could take time and he may never be more than a CnS 3PT shooter and slasher. They are getting back a far better version (offensively) in Ross and have the defensive chops around the floor to make up for the loss of Thybulle here. They also land Barnes, who's bad contract takes the place of Horford's, but fits a little better as a wing and helps fill the hole left by Harris leaving. Philly has also been searching for an additional PG to help keep it so Simmons isn't the only playmaker on the roster. Cory Joseph is also overpaid, but he's a veteran Guard who should fill a roll they've been dying to fill.
Kings Perspective:
They overpaid for both Barnes & Joseph -- so they are moving them both and replacing them with a single, lesser bad contract in Horford. It's true that the Kings want to play at a fast pace, which Horford doesn't fit, but he IS a strong veteran for a team that needs leadership around it's young guys. Also he's still very skilled and on most plays he'd be dangerous as a trailing big to be an outlet and secondary playmaker if Fox gets shut down after racing up the court. Aaron Gordon is a better player Barnes in most respects (rebounds, playmaker, defender), younger, on a smaller contract, and would thrive in the up-tempo style the Kings want to play. For a team that's not been able to put things together, this hits a bit of a reset without giving up any of their young pieces.
Magic Perspective:
The Magic need offense and while it's true that Thybulle isn't the offensive spark-plug that Ross is, they make that trade off because Harris is a clear upgrade on that side of the floor over Gordon. He shoots better, scores better, and scores more. He's arguably also a small-ball PF, but he's at least more of an SF than Gordon is, so the fit is still better overall. He's overpaid as well, but for team desperate for offense and unable to lure a FA or afford a legit SuperStar via trade...it may be the required trade-off. Losing Ross hurts, but a more consistent scoring option in the starting lineup is better than a hot-and-cold flamethrower off the bench in my opinion. In addition, there's some time to allow Thybulle to grow into his 3nD roll. He's a menace on defense, and with staggered lineups the hope is that he can be a capable play-finisher -- making his overall impact (hopefully) similar or better to TRoss.
Added Notes:
I thought about moving around some Picks to "even out" any lopsided part of the trade...but when looking at the ins-and-outs, I didn't see an area where a team would feel overly slighted.
76ers get out from Horford & Harris' deals (even if they like Harris, he's pretty clearly overpaid), and swap Horford, Harris & Thybulle for Barnes, Ross, and Joseph. This checks several boxes of what they have been looking for on the trade market and feels mostly balanced when making a combined "talent + fit" evaluation. I think they see this as a solid move for a win-now mindset.
Kings move a couple pieces that haven't resulted wins over several years, and get back a veteran leader and a better established young-piece who fits their scheme in return. It costs them a bit more $ over the next couple years...but considering how desperate they are to finally make some noise, I think they are not going to feel that Barnes/Joseph were going to get them there.
Magic move on from Gordon, who the FO didn't pick, give up Ross' spark-plug, and take on Harris' deal...but they get back a more polished & dependable scorer in Harris who is still a multi-positional defender, and a young guy who fits their mold to a T as a multi-positional defensive terror. With Okeke waiting in the wings, there's a core of Fultz, Thybulle, Okeke, Isaac, Bamba to look at over the next season or two before really settling in on who stays for the logn-haul.
I'm not sure any team inherently takes a big step forward with these moves...but there's potential for improvement on each roster. And none seem like they'd inherently make a team worse.
Magic lineups after the trades:
Starters: Fultz, Fournier, Harris, Isaac, Vucevic
Bench: Augustin, Thybulle, Okeke, Aminu, Bamba
Reserve: MCW, Iwundu, Birch
Anywho, that's an idea.
