Instant Trade Grab Bag 10. Ben Simmons, yes or no? & Open Thread

The vultures are dive bombing Big Ben

Eric Apricot

Jun 23, 2021

178

The Vultures

After Ben Simmons had a bad 2021 playoffs, the vultures are circling for his head.

Yaron Weitzman @YaronWeitzman

"Name me one area where Ben Simmons has improved," former 76ers assistant Jim O'Brien asked his colleagues. The room fell silent. New story, for @FOXSports: How Ben Simmons forgot how to shoot and The Process lost its way:

Ben Simmons’ playoff struggles create quandary for Philadelphia 76ersBen Simmons’ shooting struggles were predated by years of confusion around what the problem is, Yaron Weitzman writes.foxsports.com

Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors

One moment in the 76ers' stunning Game 7 loss shows why the Warriors should have no interest in Ben Simmons bit.ly/35F3BMe

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

Ben Simmons is just 22-67 (32.8%) from the line this postseason. That’s on pace to be the 2nd-worst in a single postseason in NBA history (min. 50 FTA) The worst a non-center has shot from the line in a postseason is 41.5% by Andre Iguodala for the 2015 Warriors (min. 50 FTA)

The GOLDEN Vultures

And of course, with a lot of Dub Nation proclaiming that GSW should “push all their chips in” and “not waste Steph’s prime”, people immediately started thinking about whether to get him to GSW.

Is Ben Simmons a fit for the Warriors? Why a trade wouldn’t happen, and why it shouldn’t be off the table by Marcus Thompson II
Hollinger: Ben Simmons trade seems inevitable after The Pass. But how can Sixers pull it off? by John Hollinger

Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg

New Locked On #Warriors pod! Should Golden State trade for Ben Simmons? 🍎 apple.co/3iZtgHq ✳️ spoti.fi/2UnclnU 📺 youtu.be/ZT_MwoSWk1k

Chip Murphy @ChipMurphy7

Ben Simmons next team odds Blazers +200 Wizards +300 Spurs +400 Jazz +500 OKC +550 Warriors +600 Lakers +650 Cavs +700 Rockets +1000 Joel Embiid next team odds Blazers +200 Rockets +250 Warriors +300 Lakers +400 TWolves +500 Pacers +600 Pels +700 via @SportsBettingAG

The Specific Trade Proposals

Pretty much the only two possible direct trades for Ben Simmons would have at a core trading one of Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins.

'21 Season Review: Welcome to Andrew Wiggins Island

I took the instant temperature on Wiggins for Simmons, and Dub Nation says, heck NO.

Eric Apricot @EricApricot

Trade Grab Bag Instant Temperature Taking GSW gets Ben Simmons PHI gets Andrew Wiggins Who says no?

Eric Apricot @EricApricot

Trade Grab Bag 10.2. GSW gets Ben Simmons 2022 1st PHI PHI gets Andrew Wiggins James Wiseman Blame MT2 and Cowherd:

Why the Warriors should trade for Ben Simmons | The Colin Cowherd PodcastThe Athletic’s Bay Area columnist Marcus Thompson and Colin Cowherd discuss the rumored Ben Simmons/Warriors trade, and why they think Simmons would fit with...youtube.com

Draymond for Ben Simmons makes more sense from a fit and youth (Ben is 25) perspective. (Hard to imagine Draymond and Simmons on court at the same time given their unscary shooting.)

Eric Apricot @EricApricot

Trade Grab Bag 10.3. And for completeness: GSW gets Ben Simmons 2022 1st PHI PHI gets Draymond Green James Wiseman I'm not championing this trade, just putting it out there.

But, Draymond has been the fire of the team for years. He is not great at 3s or FTs but he will shoot them unlike Ben, and he’s still a genius defender and passer.

'21 Season Review: Draymond Green can do almost anything

It’s hard for me to imagine Daryl Excel Morey selling low on Simmons, so I don’t think this happens. But, it’s on everyone’s mind.

Also complicating the picture is the Warriors indeed got #7 and #14 picks in the draft, so you figure at least one of those is tradeable.

What’s your take?

mDuo13

Jun 24, 2021

I think Simmons is an interesting player since he has major strengths and glaring weaknesses, and you always have to wonder how much you can amplify and mitigate those by putting a guy alongside Stephen Curry.

Problem is, any plausible way of getting Simmons on the Warriors involves giving up a guy who's already an established fit for a big unknown. So yeah, that's a no.

Best case scenario I can think of is if you view Simmons as a center and think that maybe you can get a bargain-bin Wiggins understudy who's less of a downgrade than Simmons is an upgrade at the center position. Steph+Klay+Dray+Simmons+JTA for example seems like it would be a pretty respectable lineup. Alternatively, seeing him as a younger alternative to Draymond makes sense, but you have to be assuming a pretty harsh decline from Draymond to take a gamble on Simmons.

The biggest reason I'm wary of taking Simmons is that his weaknesses (like FT%) are pretty individual, which means they're not that easy to fix by moving him to a new team. Contrast with Wiggins' perceived weaknesses before coming to the Warriors (efficiency, defense), which were pretty rapidly improved just by changing the situation, demands, and philosophy of the team he plays for.

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