Paul Pierce believes Kevin Durant should get traded to the East, but not to the Philadelphia 76ers.
After acquiring Paul George last summer, many expected the Philadelphia 76ers to finally get over the hump in the postseason.
However, even with George on the roster, the 76ers ended up missing the 2025 playoffs, finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 24-58 record.
A huge reason behind the 76ers’ abysmal regular-season run was Joel Embiid battling with injuries and playing in just 19 games. Now, the 76ers are being linked to a big-name star, someone like Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant.
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty ImagesPaul Pierce is against Kevin Durant joining the Philadelphia 76ers
Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce recently gave his two cents on the 76ers potentially trading for the Slim Reaper.
Pierce made it clear that Durant should not be given the green light for this move.
“Not at all. I just don’t want to see Kevin at this stage go to a mess of a franchise that doesn’t understand what direction they want to go in.
“In my eyes, I’m not trying to get Kevin Durant, because they would probably have to give up a pick and Paul George, and now it’s like a lateral move to me,” Pierce said on SPEAK.
So, what should Philly do? Well, Pierce urged the organization to part ways with Embiid.
“Clearly what they should do as an organization is trade Embiid and rebuild. This is not a knock on Embiid, it’s just that I think the process is over in Philadelphia,” he added.
Pierce suggests new destinations for Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant
Although Pierce is against Embiid and Durant becoming teammates, he still thinks they should find new destinations in the coming offseason.
The 2008 NBA champ stated: “Trade Paul George and get younger. I don’t want to see this team disappoint me like they have been the most disappointing franchise over the past five or so years, being that they had top-tier talent.
“They should start over and stop trying to put band-aids on these holes.”
But the question is, which team would realistically trade for Embiid?
“What about Golden State [Warriors]? Yeah, you got salaries and stuff. You got to understand who could use Embiid,” Pierce suggested.
And finally, added: “Kevin Durant, he would look good in Orlando to me. Pair him with a couple of young superstars, a veteran presence, scoring punch, I like him over there more than Philly.”
Now, that’s an interesting proposal. The Warriors trading for Embiid would also help solve their Jonathan Kuminga problem.