With their inability to live up to the expectations of a legitimate title contender in the Eastern Conference, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are facing rumors about their future with the Philadelphia 76ers. Many people believe that if the team suffers a huge disappointment in the 2019-20 NBA season, the Sixers may consider breaking up the star duo of Embiid and Simmons this summer. In the potential scenario where the Sixers decide to let Embiid go, one of the NBA teams expected to express a strong interest in acquiring the All-Star big man is the Miami Heat.
According to Preston Ellis of Bleacher Report , the Heat could explore the possibility of reuniting Jimmy Butler with Embiid if the Sixers make the All-Star center available on the trade market in the 2020 NBA offseason.
“The pairing of Embiid and Butler nearly helped the Sixers knock off the eventual champion Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2018-19. The Heat are also poised to be one of the few teams with available cap space this summer, so they could pull off a lopsided trade in terms of salary.”
Embiid would undeniably be an incredible addition to the Heat, giving them the second superstar that they have been looking for since the successful acquisition of Butler in the 2019 NBA free agency. Though Bam Adebayo has already blossomed into an All-Star caliber player, Embiid is still the better center. Embiid would not only boost the Heat’s performance on both ends of the floor, but he would also give them a reliable floor-spacer.
Though Embiid and Butler only played one season together in the City of Brotherly Love, they aren’t expected to have a hard time building chemistry in Miami. However, once he’s traded to the Heat, it should be clear to Embiid that he’s not the main man of the team — Butler is.
To acquire Embiid, Ellis suggested that the Heat could offer a trade package that includes Adebayo and Tyler Herro to the Sixers. If the trade becomes a reality, Ellis thinks that it would not only be beneficial for the Heat, but also for the Sixers.
“Herro would be the perfect complement to Ben Simmons and would replace the shooting the Sixers desperately missed following JJ Redick’s free-agent departure, while Adebayo could assume Embiid’s role as their interior anchor.”
Acquiring Adebayo and Herro in exchange for Embiid would help the Sixers remain competitive in the Eastern Conference. Aside from adding players that complement Simmons’ game, the potential deal would also benefit Al Horford. Sharing the Sixers’ frontcourt with a big man like Adebayo, who could excel even without the ball in his hands, could help Horford bring back his old self and start living up to the expectations created by the massive contract he signed last summer.