Rockets: 3 Trades that send James Harden to the Sixers for Ben Simmons

Tyrese Maxey is the Wildcard in these trade talks

One of the Sixers’ first-round picks after 2024 is headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which complicates their ability to send the Rockets a treasure trove of picks. However, the Sixers used their 2020 first-round pick to draft Tyrese Maxey.

Maxey spent one season at the University of Kentucky and flashed tremendous promise as a combo-guard. His 3-point shooting was abysmal at 29.2-percent but he posted a solid 83.3-percent mark from the free-throw line.

If the Rockets can’t get as many picks from the Sixers as they’d like then grabbing Maxey would be the equivalent of getting Philadelphia’s 2020 first-rounder. However, rookies, once they sign their rookie scale deal, cannot be traded for 30 days.

On January 1st, 2021 Maxey will be eligible for trade and could be the difference-maker in making this deal work. A deal headlined by Simmons, Maxey, salary filler, and two first-round picks would be a fantastic return for the Rockets.

They’d essentially be securing three first-round picks and a young franchise cornerstone to build around. While Maxey might struggle for minutes in the early going, his presence will allow the Rockets to have tremendous depth at the guard position which could be extremely important as John Wall continues to get back up to speed after his Achilles injury.

If the Rockets believe that the Sixers have the best deal then expect for them to wait until 2021 to finalize a trade. 2020 has been an especially bad year for Rockets fans but a massive trade to kick off 2021 will be the reset that the franchise and fan base need.