Lakers News: How An MVP Could Land In Los Angeles

Interesting proposition here...

When the news broke about Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden opting into his final year option and now working with the 76ers on a trade, many people started to wonder where he could go. But I, like others went a different route. I wondered about the other star on the 76ers, reigning 2023 MVP Joel Embiid. 

It's been reported that the Los Angeles Clippers may be in the running to land Harden but that they don't want to give up any of their star players. If true, the 76ers should look elsewhere. If Philadelphia does indeed trade Harden for a non-star in return, Embiid may want out.

Long-time NBA analyst Bill Simmons discussed some teams that could make sense for Embiid if he ever asked out of Philadelphia. One he named was the Los Angeles Lakers and how they could move Anthony Davis for Embiid. 

"Anthony Davis for Embiid is about as fair of a haul as you're going to get if you're just trying to get a star back."

Per The Bill Simmons Podcast

If the Lakers saw that Embiid was available, it could make sense to at least discuss an Embiid trade for Davis. It could be an interesting decision especially with the team starting to think post-LeBron James.

Both players are dominant in their own right and would give their teams fair value. Davis is better defensively while Embiid is better on offense. So it would really be what the Lakers valued and if the 76ers even wanted Davis. 

Both players have dealt with injury issues throughout their careers so it would somewhat be like swapping issues. Davis is a year older than Embiid as well but in the modern NBA, that isn't too much of a difference. 

Personally, I may prefer Davis. Even with his limitations on offense, Davis is still a dominant player on the court. And it's not like Embiid plays many more games than Davis does. 

It's a tricky situation and obviously hypothetical for now. But with all the Harden news, Embiid could very well ask out of Philadelphia sooner rather than later.

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