NBA Trade Deadline 2012: The One Trade the Philadelphia 76ers Must Make

76ERS TRADE: Evan Turner, Andres Nocioni, Craig Brackins, Tony Battie & 2012 No. 1 Pick

JAZZ TRADE: Al Jefferson and Raja Bell

I would venture to guess neither respective teams' GM has even considered the above trade proposal to date, but they should. Evan Turner and his unique talents are being wasted in Philadelphia while Al Jefferson is a $14 million big man on a team with three other younger big men that need to, or should be, playing big minutes.

The Philadelphia 76ers are playing great basketball this year. They're on pace to win a division title, grab a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference—and then get hammered in the first round of the playoffs.

However, such doesn't need to be the case if only they will include the young and talented Evan Turner, a Swiss Army talent who can play three positions, along with the expiring contract of Andres Nocioni in a trade.

If the 76ers could land a star big man like Al Jefferson, they would not only have one of the best frontcourts in the Eastern Conference with Jefferson, Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand—they would have one of the best, deepest and most talented rosters in the entire league (with players such as All-Star Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams and Thad Young).

Raja Bell would also be included in the trade from the Jazz and would replace Turner quite well as the 76ers' fourth or fifth guard.

Turner is a talented young player, but he is playing just 23 minutes per game and his shooting percentages are down across the board. He simply is nowhere near as important to the 76ers, who have four other quality guards, as a big man of Al Jefferson's stature would be.

As for the Jazz, they are not on pace to make the playoffs this season and may even start tanking games towards the end of the year to make sure they miss the playoffs so they don't lose their first-round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which will happen if they make the playoffs.

The Jazz also have invested a lot in young bigs Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. They also have the superb power forward Paul Millsap and talented, young big Jeremy Evans. Al Jefferson is much too good to sit on the bench, but Favors and Kanter are much too important to Utah's future to leave on the bench.

I believe this is a trade that both teams should strongly consider, one which would make the 76ers a force to be reckoned with in the East and the Jazz a future perennial playoff contender in the West.