Sixers

Nah

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jun 20th, 2023 · 10:24 AM EDT

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Zion:

Is Zion Williamson in play for the Sixers and should he be?https://t.co/xADYKXnLOI

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) June 19, 2023

No.

This one is straightforward because:

1. the Sixers already have a ball-dominant big with injury problems
2. they need wings and two-way perimeter players
3. Zion has never played a postseason game and there’s no indication that he has that playoff dawg in him
4. he’s got 5 more years at $33 million plus on his contract, taking him to age 28
5. the guy has more off court drama than the Kardashians

Zion is 22 and has played 114 games in four seasons, so that’s 28.5 on average, including the year he missed entirely due to the foot injury. He doesn’t shoot the three, so he’s not a good fit with Embiid on the floor, unless you want to try to concoct some sort of high/low thing where Joel isn’t always operating on the block. That would reignite the lovely “Embiid should get his ass in the post” debate, though you’d certainly be much more amenable to Zion in the dunker spot than Tobias Harris or P.J. Tucker. And yeah, the half court offense might be a headache, but the thought of Zion and Tyrese Maxey/James Harden running in transition is pretty cool. That would be fun to watch.

Dunno though, it just doesn’t make sense here unless you concede that you’re all-in right now and you don’t have anywhere else to go. You’d need to guarantee enough touches as well for him to do the Giannis-type things he does on the perimeter.

This is a way to get off the Tobias Harris contract, but you’d be inheriting another huge one in its place, and then there’s no guarantee you can find a couple of athletic wings anywhere on this current roster or in the free agent market. This feels like Al Horford part 2 and I am having PTSD of Brett Brown saying “we will play smash mouth offense and bully ball defense.”

Would be nice to see this in Philly, just don’t think it’s realistic: