3 trades that would send Joel Embiid to the Rockets

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Josh Richardson #0 and Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. Houston Rockets land Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson

In the final trade proposal, the Rockets would send Eric Gordon, Robert Covington, P.J. Tucker, Danuel House Jr., and Ben McLemore for Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson. This trade would be the most beneficial for the Houston Rockets because it would allow them to maintain their dynamic duo of Westbrook and Harden and add one of the best centers in the NBA in Embiid.

But the Rockets would also be getting rid of the rest of their starters and sacrificing some of their bench productivity. A deal like this is similar to the deal the Los Angeles Lakers executed with the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire Anthony Davis last offseason.

The comparison lies in the fact that the Lakers traded away their core of young players to get the superstar in Davis leaving them forced to round out their roster. The new GM and head coach combination would have a chance to rebuild the roster in their own way, with all the empty roster spots. The Rockets would still have guys like Chris Clemons and David Nwaba that they could turn to for legitimate minutes.

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It should be stated that these trades are based on a rumor that was only released through one source and these are just deals that seem the most realistic for an already outlandish transaction for Joel Embiid. We shouldn’t necessarily expect any of these deals to be completed, but they present the Rockets with the best chance to land Embiid, if they do indeed go in that direction.