76ers get: Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson
Thunder get: Al Horford, draft rights to Vasilije Micic, 2020 No. 34 pick (Theo Maledon), protected 2025 first-round pick
Philadelphia 76ers: A-
We knew there would be trades with Daryl Morey taking over as Philadelphia's president of basketball operations. I still didn't think he could move Al Horford this quickly or this cheaply.
The book is now closed on Horford's brief, disappointing stint with the Sixers. I get what the Sixers were thinking when they signed him. Horford would be insurance for Joel Embiid after Philadelphia had collapsed with Embiid on the bench in the 2019 playoff loss to the Toronto Raptors, then also provide value playing next to Embiid as a power forward. The latter idea simply never worked out.
Lineups with Horford and Embiid last season were outscored and ranked in the 10th percentile among all lineups offensively, according to Cleaning the Glass. In practice, there just wasn't enough floor spacing with Embiid, Horford and Ben Simmons all on the court despite Horford's ability to shoot the 3. And of those three, Horford was clearly the odd man out. Horford still had value to the 76ers as a backup center but not enough to justify a $27.5 million salary for a team deep in the luxury tax.
The first, most obvious benefit of this deal is indeed financial. The Sixers were set to start the offseason a minimum of $17.2 million into the luxury tax before attempting to fill out the roster or upgrade it. Taking back Green ($15.4 million) and Ferguson ($3.9 million) cuts that down to $8.2 million, and also breaks it into smaller chunks that could more easily be moved in the future. Trading Ferguson, Mike Scott ($5.0 million) and Zhaire Smith ($3.2 million) would get Philadelphia at least temporarily out of the tax without appreciably harming the team's rotation.
In the long term, the savings could be bigger. Green and Ferguson are both on expiring contracts, while Horford is due $27 million in 2021-22 and has $14.5 million of his $26.5 million salary for 2022-23 guaranteed. Although the Sixers could have stretched that guaranteed portion, it still would have left Horford on the team's books for years.
Above and beyond that, the 76ers might have gotten a better fit in Green. Another 3-and-D wing fits the bill for Philadelphia, which can never have enough shooting or defenders with size. If the Sixers get anything like the 45.5% 3-point shooting Green posted two seasons ago for the Toronto Raptors, they'll have come out ahead both on the court and financially in this deal.
After all, replacing Horford as a backup center should be doable for Philly using the taxpayer midlevel exception. Already, fans were buzzing about Sam Hinkie-era 76ers center Nerlens Noel posting a Facebook message last week that said, "Cant wait to be back" (sic) with a photo of him in a Philadelphia uniform. My ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon has indicated that Noel was one center Morey's Houston Rockets were considering acquiring at the trade deadline after giving up starter Clint Capela, so the dots would connect.
Given all that, I think giving up a first-round pick my colleague Adrian Wojnarowski reports is "lightly protected" in 2025, this year's No. 34 pick (one of four Philadelphia held in the second round) and the rights to Micic is a reasonable price.
Oklahoma City Thunder: C
If Sam Presti manages to rehabilitate Al Horford's value and trade him for another first-round pick, along the lines of what we saw from Chris Paul's time in Oklahoma City, we should just permanently award him Executive of the Year.
For now, it feels like the Thunder might have let the 76ers off the hook a little when you consider they both gave up Green -- whose trade value could also have rebounded by the deadline -- and took back the additional salary for Horford in future seasons.
Still, Horford might be rejuvenated in Oklahoma City if he gets the chance to play center. He was still quite good in that role last season; with Horford at center, Philadelphia outscored opponents by 5.8 points per 100 possessions according to analysis of data from NBA Advanced Stats. Of course, the Thunder currently have a starting center in Steven Adams, and we'll see whether Adams is the next player dealt as part of Oklahoma City's busy summer.
Above and beyond the number of total first-round picks the Thunder have accumulated (17 between tonight's draft and 2026, the latest year teams currently trade draft picks), it's interesting how Oklahoma City has now loaded up on the 20s and 30s of this year's draft in particular. The Thunder are set to pick 25th, 28th and 34th, giving them tremendous flexibility to move up if they like a particular player higher in the first round.
I'm also intrigued by the inclusion of Micic in the deal. He was taken No. 52 overall by Hinkie all the way back in 2014 and has remained overseas, emerging as a EuroLeague star for Turkish club Anadolu Efes. Based on his EuroLeague performance, my SCHOENE projection system compares Micic (now age 26) to fellow international standout Nando De Colo. Adding Micic's rights could be part of the value for Oklahoma City.