Preface:
I probably would not do this
I imagine neither team would do this
Idea:
Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown
for
Ben Simmons and Al Horford
Reasoning for C's:
Ben Simmons is extremely talented, younger than Kemba, and has vastly more defensive potential. The shooting on the C's could provide the kind of rangy offense that Simmons needs around him to thrive. Additionally, we get to put Horford back in our system that successfully utilized his skill sets in the past.
Reasoning for 76ers:
Kemba is a way better fit for their team right now, both as a P+R operator with Embiid and as a spot up shooter when Embiid is on the block. They also get Jaylen, who is turning in to a very viable 2nd/3rd option.
Proposed starting rosters:
Celtics: Simmons/Smart/Hayward/Tatum/Horford
76ers: Kemba/Brown/Richardson/Harris/Embiid
The main reason I wouldn't do this is that I'm not convinced that Simmons is better than Brown, long term. One could argue that Kemba for Horford is somewhat fair, considering the history of point guards over 30. I'm not that worried about Kemba over the life of his contract, but I wouldn't blame someone else for thinking it would be negative value toward the end. There is also something in my head about Kemba being an important personality on our team. Hard to account for chemistry, but I really enjoy how positive our team seems this year -- and Kemba is at least some of the reason why.
From a salary standpoint I don' think this could happen until next year. Brown and Simmons are both on poison pill contracts this year, so trading them is problematic. It was just and idea that stuck with me enough to post about it. Feel free to lob tomatoes.
