The Philadelphia 76ers already executed one trade involving an elite NBA superstar this summer, so why not make it two?
After acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics, the Sixers have emerged as among the favorites to sign four-time MVP LeBron James in free agency. It is unclear how important former MVP Joel Embiid is to that outcome, but if Philly has a chance to get off his salary over the next three years, it’s a move the organization absolutely must consider.
Enter the Golden State Warriors who also remain in the mix for James, though have fallen to at least the second tier of contenders behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the 76ers, per a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday, July 7.
Charania also reported Tuesday that the Warriors believe they must secure Anthony Davis via a trade with the Washington Wizards in order to land James.
However, a pivot point could be a deal for Embiid.
That is according to Joe DeCamara of 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia, who appeared on the “Willard & Dibs” Show on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area on Wednesday and pitched a blockbuster deal between the Warriors and 76ers swapping Jimmy Butler for Embiid straight up. It is a hypothetical move DeCamara contended “absolutely could be in play.”
“A deal that makes a ton of sense both ways is that the Sixers wanna get out from [under] Joel Embiid — trade him to [Golden State] for Jimmy Butler,” DeCamara said.
Trade Flipping Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid Would Work Smoothly From Salary Standpoint
GettyJimmy Butler III of the Golden State Warriors.
DeCamara did not leave out the obvious hitch in that plan, which is Embiid’s health and his issues staying on the court — particularly during the playoffs — over the last several seasons.
“The rub is Joel has three years left on his deal, Jimmy Butler has one year left on his deal,” DeCamara continued. “So would the Warriors want an unbelievable, all-world talent in Joel Embiid to have that be one of two things: with LeBron, the ‘Let’s absolutely go for it,’ or the without LeBron, ‘Hey, we still got a heck of shot because now we got Joel Embiid and Steph Curry, and let’s try it that way.'”
Butler’s salary in 2026-27 is just over 56.8 million, while Embiid will earn just shy of $58 million, so the money in such a deal would work smoothly under league rules.
Joel Embiid’s Injury Issues Greatest Obstacle to Trade With Warriors
GettyJoel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers (left).
The benefit of Golden State vying for Embiid over Davis is that both Shams Charania and Bobby Marks of ESPN have said within the last week that the Warriors will have to pay a premium in draft capital to pry Davis out of Washington, potentially including all three of Golden State’s tradable first-round picks.
If anything, the Warriors should be able to negotiate a meaningful draft asset from Philadelphia by assuming the final three seasons of what is an otherwise unmovable contract for Embiid — even despite his MVP campaign in 2022-23.
That leads into the obvious downside of Golden State acquiring Embiid, which is namely that he hasn’t reached 40 games played in any of the past three regular seasons (39, 19 and 38 appearances, respectively).
It doesn’t matter much that Embiid averages 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per contest across his NBA career considering he can’t stay on the floor and is only getting older and presumably more injury prone. He will play the upcoming campaign at the age of 32.
76ers Blockbuster Trade Pitch Sends Joel Embiid West Amid LeBron James Pursuit