The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have one of the strongest modern rivalries in the NBA, with both franchises despising what the other one stands for over a couple of decades now. They’ve both been contenders over the last 6 seasons. but the Celtics have had more team success in that stretch, headed by Jayson Tatum. The 76ers have had arguably the best player in the NBA over that stretch with center Joel Embiid.
Tatum and Embiid are superstars, but Tatum has the team success that Embiid lacks while Embiid has individual accolades that Tatum falls short of. Not many would argue the fact that Embiid is a better player right now in terms of his incredible production but Tatum is a better bet on a winning team due to his versatility.
A shock blockbuster trade could see Tatum get the opportunity Embiid has with higher usage in Philadelphia while Embiid gets to play for a well-rounded team with proven Playoff success.
Trade Details
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Jayson Tatum, 2030 First-Round Pick (BOS)
Boston Celtics Receive: Joel Embiid
This deal isn’t realistic but it is an interesting experiment to see if Embiid could actually be a champion if he had a roster like the Celtics around him and to see if Tatum could take a team like the 76ers to the promised land as the leading superstar on the roster.
Why Would The 76ers Accept This Trade?
The Philadelphia 76ers have been trying to make it work with Joel Embiid, but the second-round ceiling on the franchise just seems unbreakable. They’re entering the 2024-25 season with hope after acquiring Paul George, but would they dare think of surrounding George and Maxey with a different superstar player?
Jayson Tatum is a phenomenal additive piece who lets his teammates thrive but is willing to take the responsibility of winning on his shoulders. Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists last season. While his numbers will never be as gaudy as Embiid’s there are various factors as to why the 76ers would rather have a star like Tatum instead of Embiid.
Jayson Tatum is a more malleable superstar with the ability to fit into various systems and be a multi-faceted contributor on the defensive end. Given Nick Nurse’s specialty of maximizing production from wings, Tatum might take an MVP leap of featured in Philly with fewer elite supporting pieces but enough to allow him to be the alpha of a winning team.
The 76ers have paid the price of many wasted seasons due to Embiid’s fragility, with the center seemingly unable to make it through a regular season and Playoff run without injury. With him in his 30s, the 76ers can move off Embiid at the peak of his trade value while getting a younger and more durable star, but with less production.
Why Would The Celtics Accept This Trade?
The Boston Celtics could have a morale problem on their hands with Jaylen Brown’s emergence as the Finals MVP and a Team USA snub where Tatum didn’t necessarily defend the non-selection of his teammate. They’ve achieved the maximum they can as a duo, with the only thing awaiting them is the building of a dynasty. They could do it as teammates in Boston, but these elite duos rarely find a way to stay together for years after winning. If a game-changer such as Joel Embiid is available, could it actually be the best-case scenario in terms of a trade return for someone like Tatum?
Embiid averaged 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists last season in 39 games played, with the 76ers going 31-8 with him in the lineup. The Celtics don’t have an offensive force as dynamic as Embiid. They beat the NBA by being much better than everyone else last season, but that margin is expected to diminish this season with teams aggressively trying to build rosters to counter their strength. Nobody has a Joel Embiid stopper, and acquiring Embiid while keeping the trio of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday on the team’s perimeter would be a massive win.
It’s a risk to trade the metronomic dependability of Tatum for a player like Embiid who is unquestionably better as an individual talent, but a trickier fit. An Embiid-Porzingis frontcourt would have major availability questions, so this deal likely forces the Celtics to make more supplementary deals to ensure balance.
This Trade Will Never Happen, But Should It?
It’s really interesting to see such trade scenarios. Most fans know that organizations would never do a deal like this, as they’re invested in winning with these franchise cornerstones that they drafted. Embiid is the face of the 76ers and has been since 2014 when he was dubbed ‘The Process,’ in honor of the years of tanking by Sam Hinkie with Embiid the superstar player he always dreamed of.
Jayson Tatum might have fallen short when it came to winning the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals MVP, but the Celtics have been his franchise since he dunked on LeBron James in the 2018 Conference Finals. Both teams are emotionally attached to their stars, so they wouldn’t even engage in this trade. But if they did, the results could be phenomenal.
Embiid’s dominance shows he could be a singular superstar force on the Celtics, rather than Tatum whose status is always questioned. The iffy health of Kristaps Porzingis forces the team to rely on Al Horford, so they could just take a step forward and put Embiid on the block while having Jaylen Brown as the featured perimeter piece, a role he can thrive in. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White will maintain the defensive structure while Embiid does what he does best as an imposing inside figure.
Tatum and George would make for a killer wing combo and could be an easier fit from an ego perspective than what’s happening on the Celtics. Maxey can continue as the primary on-ball scorer, with the 76ers using a traditional workman center like Andre Drummond to hopefully contend with perimeter brilliance, the trusted formula for winning in the NBA.
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