Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have started the 2020-21 NBA season 7-3, a top of the standings in the Eastern Conference. With Joel Embiid looking like a clear-cut MVP candidate and both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris elevating their play under new head coach Doc Rivers, this team looks like they have the capability of potentially making it to the NBA Finals.
The best thing this team can do is to continue adding role players around their three star players and Alex Caruso is a guy who could fit right in. So far this season, Philly has really zeroed in on being an elite-level defensive team, as they currently rank 7th in the NBA in fewest amount of points allowed per game.
While he is not an elite defender, Caruso is more than capable of holding his own on the perimeter and is a guy who does all the little things to help his team win. Whether it is rotating onto different guys in transition or playing physical defense, he just seems to have a knack for being in the right place on the court.
Last season, Alex Caruso was one of the first players off the bench for the Lakers in their second-unit and he was a great role player next to their two superstars in LeBron and AD. In Philly, Caruso could basically play the same role he has played for years now and do all the intangible things on the court that do not necessarily show up in the stat sheets.
Trading away Dwight Howard would not really be much of a loss for the 76ers, which is surprising since they just signed him in the offseason. He has not played much off the bench and with Embiid, Simmons and Tony Bradley healthy, Howard is going to continue seeing limited minutes.
His only worth to this team is his veteran leadership and depth at the center position should Joel Embiid go down with an injury. Trading away Howard for Caruso and a second-round pick is not a bad trade by any means for the Philadelphia 76ers and is something they should definitely consider doing because you can never have too much backcourt depth in this NBA.
