Anfernee Simons shifts to sidekick status with Sixers
And so the blockbuster deal happened. 27 year All-CSL 1st Team guard/wing Anfernee Simons is being shipped to the Sixers along with 22 year old Mouhamed Gueye, the Atlanta Hawks 2035 1st received in the Wemby trade, and the Pelicans' 2034 2nd to obtain 30 year old former multi-All-CSL Teamer Jayson Tatum and New Orleans' 1st round pick in this draft class.
We've already written extensively about how New Orleans' mildly disappointing 6-8 start wasn't Simons' fault, but this is the right decision for the team in order to rectify the colossal Moses Moody blunder last season while still giving the team the talent to be competitive this year. But more on that in a second.
In Philadelphia, it's expected that Simons will occupy the same 6th man role held by Tatum until legendary Donovan Mitchell starts his decline phase. As one scout noted, "This was the move the 76ers needed to make to extend their window alongside Doom and Mitgaard, who are in the same basic timeline. Now they can let Mitchell walk next season, get out of hard cap trouble, and still field a contending team. They weren't going to have that with whomever they got with New Orleans' pick. Both Mitchell and Simons are explosive downhill scorers with solid handles and excellent defense, so the fit and continuity perspectives are priceless."
And then there's the minor piece in the deal that sees a pair of brothers united.
Mouhamed Gueye will attempt to his career back on track in the City of Brotherly Love
The younger Gueye brother, Mouhamed has exceptional passing for a 4, elite offensive rebounding, and a knack for stealing the ball while also playing solid defense. Mediocre inside the arc, but has the ability to hit 3's. At 22, he's still an interesting bench prospect and saw quite a lot of action last season, but found himself benched this year with the Pelicans' offseason moves.
Said the scout, "We joke about how Philly and New Orleans are built similarly in a lot of ways, but the 76ers are much more of a pressure defensive scheme, while the Pelicans play more of a slow-tempo control game and are shifting to an efficiency scheme that has common DNA with Portland and Classic Jestorball. Gueye didn't really fit what New Orleans does, but should find new life in Philly's system if he's able to get playing time."
From the Big Easy's view, it's getting their first round pick this season back that has them resting easy. While it was Top 10 protected, and likely to fall out of it at 11th if the projection of them holding on to the 10th and final play-in spot held, there was still a need to win now as much as possible without sacrificing the future (again) in order to devalue the selection. Now they have the flexibility they need to pivot to continuing the rebuild that got briefly interrupted by their surprise success last season. That's not to say they necessarily *will* - this will depend on any offers they get for Karl-Anthony Towns and the guy the just acquired - but the option is now much more open to them in a way that it wasn't before.
Okay, time to talk Jayson Tatum.
Jayson Tatum will be thrilled to get back to a starting role
Some of the shine has fallen off of Tatum compared to his early years in Denver, when he was the toast of the CSL as a dangerous scorer who can hit the defensive glass and not turn the ball over. Interestingly, he immediately becomes New Orleans' best defensive rebounder. Most observers say SG is his best position, but Tyrese Maxey is already sitting in that spot.
The obvious answer says to simply slot him in at SF, but that ignores the possibility of the former #1 overall pick shifting to the 2 spot and sparking the Pelicans' bench with Maxey in a 6th man role. What would that look like then? An Easter coach said, "Basically, by putting Tatum in at SG, you're upgrading the ballhandling, rebounding, and defense at the 2 while still providing incredible scoring power and probably even better consistency. There's a lot to be said for that, and I like the idea of a White/Tatum/CHJ/KAT/Williams starting five while you have Maxey playing both guard spots off the bench. Or maybe even a smallball lineup that has him at SF.
Another coach proposes the same starting lineup, but with Maxey playing exclusively SG off the bench and Tatum flexing out to SF. "Or if you find you need all three scorers, go with a Lightning Tea backcourt and run out Maxey/Tatum/CHJ/KAT/Williams."
There's a lot of different experiments and scenarios for Doc Rivers to test out and see how they perform. And with the team's pick back in their back pocket, there's no concerns if the whole thing blows up and results in a massive, extended string of losses.
One thing we won't see immediately is a shift in the philosophy. "We looked at Tatum's record, and he consistently performs best in Grind systems, which is what we run, so we'll go with that for now and see if we can revive his career back to rareified heights," said a New Orleans staffer.
Examining The Stockpile
New Orleans Pelicans 2034 1st
Orlando Magic 2034 1st
Portland Trailblazers 2034 1st
New Orleans Pelicans 2035 1st
Orlando Magic 2035 1st
Philadelphia 76ers 2035 2nd
New Orleans Pelicans 2036 1st
New Orleans Pelicans 2036 2nd
They lost a 2nd in their total picks warchest, but upgraded their position drastically by turning a virtually guaranteed 25-30 selection in 2035 to an almost equally-certain lottery selection this season in getting their pick back. Miami and Atlanta are heating up and Orlando has temporarily fallen back to 3rd in the Southeast, while the Trailblazers have slightly disappointed relative to expectations and are currently 7-6.
Finances
They add a few million more this season and Tatum has a guaranteed final year as opposed to Simons' TO. But with their expirings if no other moves happen, New Orleans should still have a max slot available this offseason before Maxey and Williams sign their RFA deals.
