New Orleans Pelicans Rumors: A blockbuster trade for Joel Embiid

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New Orleans Pelicans, Jrue Holiday, Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives against Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

New Orleans Pelicans rumors: Trading Jrue Holiday for Joel Embiid

Why the Sixers would do it

The only way the Sixers do this deal is if they are certain the pairing of Ben Simmons and Embiid won’t work out and they’d rather build around Simmons.

Both Simmons and Embiid are young and super talented, but Simmons is probably the easier player to build a team around given that he is a big wing who can defend, make plays and handle the ball.

A Holiday/Simmons pairing would be the best defensive backcourt in the NBA. With Mattise Thybulle and Al Horford also on board, the Sixers would be versatile and dynamic on defense.

With Doc Rivers as head coach, this could be the best defensive team in the NBA, and if you’ve been paying attention to the Finals you know that defense is what gets you there.

The Sixers would also have some cap space to play around with that they could use to add another impact free agent.

This trade would also give the Sixers some much needed 3-point shooting, a young, talented center to eventually replace Embiid, a lottery pick in 2020 and another first-rounder in 2021 that would be heavily protected.

That is a big haul for Embiid and the Sixers could potentially have a much deeper, more versatile lineup depending on what they did with the 13th pick.

This team would be a title contender defensively, and if they added another scorer or two, would be the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.

It seems like a potential home run for the Sixers, but what about the New Orleans Pelicans?