Kyle Korver bringing his sweet shooting stroke and teenage haircut on a 36-year-old-man to Cleveland was the NBA’s first big trade of the season. It won’t be the last, and the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor thinks it might just be the catalyst needed to set off a firestorm of deals. While Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel are both odd men out at the same time* – slap a city on Jah’s ass, ship him out, and don’t write a return address – O’Connor focuses on a Nerlens swap that could benefit the Sixers in bringing back knockdown shooting:

The Lillard-McCollum core can be great, but it may never be great enough. The Blazers should learn from history: If the goal is a title or multiple titles, then tough, possibly unpopular decisions will need to be made to facilitate that leap. The most underrated move the Warriors ever made was swapping Monta Ellis for Bogut. McCollum is better than Ellis ever was, but trading him as part of a deal for a rim protector should still be a potential option. Dealing your second-best player is tough for any team, especially when Portland just signed McCollum to a long-term extension. The optics of a move now (before the extension even kicks in!) would suggest they’re an organization without a clear plan. Plus, a trade is almost technically impossible this season because of the poison pill provision in his contract. The Sixers are one of the few teams that could even make it work financially (along with the Nets and Nuggets), and perhaps the only compatible team in terms of assets (sorry, Brooklyn).

This isn’t the first time McCollum’s name has been mentioned alongside the Sixers. O’Connor thinks C.J. would command a hefty price, and he’s right. His projected deal is McCollum in exchange for Nerlens, the Sixers’ first rounder this year, “the Kings’ top-10-protected 2018 first (which is becomes unprotected in 2019), and multiple second-round picks.” I actually believe that Kings pick is already 2019 unprotected due to the Stepien Rule – that a team can’t trade first round picks in back-to-back drafts – but that’s a minor issue. It’s a high price tag, but one that could easily be worth it. McCollum is the perfect fit:

“It would be a difficult deal for Philly to make, but McCollum is exactly what the Sixers should look for to pair with Simmons, who will be the de facto point guard, anyway. McCollum is an outstanding shooter, hitting over 40 percent of his spot-up 3s for four consecutive seasons, per SportVU. When the ball is in his hands, his fast-twitch movements allow him to create space for his lethal pull-up jumper. Plus, when Lillard is out, he’s capable of much more as a lead creator. In 11 games without Lillard, McCollum averages 28.4 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.9 rebounds, which are pretty rare numbers (via StatMuse). A core of McCollum, Embiid, Simmons, and Dario Saric would set them up for a long run of potential success with four dynamic players all 25 or younger. With cap space and assets, Philadelphia would soon become a free-agent destination, too. Transactions involving stars are always the most difficult to make, but sometimes they can be the right one.”

Again, it’s a very high price to pay, but they’d still have the Lakers’ pick and the Kings’ swap (if that matters), and by adding McCollum and bringing in a healthy Simmons, you may end up outpacing them in the standings anyway. Bryan Colangelo, when hired, said there are only shortcuts to the middle. His job isn’t done if he were to somehow pull off this deal. A core of Embiid-Simmons-McCollum is a pretty damn good team, but Colangelo would still have to do work to make them great. There may be no better time for the deal than now.

*Yes, I know Nerlens is looking good since being back, and I know he and Embiid look good on the floor together. But he’s going to demand a LOT of money this offseason to be a backup center, and you’re going to have to match it then or get some return for him now. The logjam can’t be Kumbaya’d to work.