The Five Best Potential Destinations for Ben Simmons
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The drama that we have been witnessing between Ben Simmons’ camp and the Philadelphia 76ers ever since Simmons had the worst series of his life against the Atlanta Hawks, which resulted with them losing in six games, has led to a situation we have, historically, rarely seen. How many times in NBA history have we had a 25 year old, three time All-Star, with four years left on his contract demand a trade and expect to be moved? This may be a first. Say what you want about Ben Simmons and whether you think he can be an offensive centerpiece without a jumper, but the youth, resume, and versatility, he provides speaks for himself, and a handful of teams should be heavily interested in acquiring the services of a talent like this, especially when you are a small market team and have minimal opportunities to acquire a legitimate star. With that being said, here are the five best destinations for Ben Simmons.
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5. San Antonio Spurs
Out of the five teams on this list, the Spurs are the furthest away from competing. They do have some very good players in Dejounte Murray, Doug McDermott, and Keldon Johnson, but these guys can’t be your main pieces if your ambition is to compete in the West. Why would Ben Simmons want to join a team that is at least a couple years from competing? He probably wouldn't. But the Spurs have a GOAT head coach in Greg Popovich, a figure Ben Simmons would surely respect and would learn a lot from. Plus, the Spurs are known to have one of, if not, the best shooting training in the league. This is one of the best places Ben could end up to improve on his weaknesses. San Antonio is an organization I trust as much as anywhere to maximize Ben Simmons’ potential, and I don’t count out the Spurs reasserting themselves again in the West in the next couples with their ability to develop young talent quickly, especially if they get their hands on a Ben Simmons.
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4. Sacramento Kings
When Ben Simmons’ camp stated their interest of joining a California team, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who knows if they were thinking Sacramento? With all due respect, when I think of California, I am thinking of Los Angeles and the Bay, not Sacramento. But who knows, Perhaps Ben’s camp stated this with Sacramento in mind? Nonetheless, this destination makes sense for both parties.
The Sacramento Kings have their franchise player in De’Aaron Fox entering his fifth season, they nailed their first round selection with Tyrese Haloburton last year, they have the longest playoff drought in the league right now. It is time for Sacramento to go all in and provide a respectable product for one of the most loyal fanbases in this league. The offensive fit is not perfect between Fox and Simmons, they are both slashing playmakers that you don’t want to shoot from the outside too often. But at the end of the day, if you pair talented players together, they tends to figure it out. With the Kings’ defense also allowing the third most PPG last season, they are desperate for defensive help. Adding a DPOY runner-up with the versatility to guard at least four positions in a Ben Simmons, that helps, a lot. It’s time Sacramento, you acquired Chris Webber in somewhat of a similar circumstance years back, that worked, find a way to make this work.
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3. Toronto Raptors
There are three destinations that I think are fantastic situations for Ben Simmons and they are pretty interchangeable on this list, but Toronto ends up being third. The Raptors check a ton of boxes; they are a stable, proven organization with a great coaching staff with Nick Nurse at the helm. They possess talented, win now players in Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam. Versatility is becoming a more vital skill by the day, if you have players such as Scottie Barnes, Ben Simmons, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby on your roster, your defensive flexibility, athleticism, size, and playmaking is unmatched. The versatility this core would possess would unlike anything we have seen, which would make their potential absurd. It is hard for me, personally, to see Simmons ultimately end up in Toronto, though, because they play in the same division as Philadephia, why would Philly want to deal with Simmons in their division for years to come? That would be an absolute nightmare for them, if he put it together. But the North would be a destination I would be thrilled with, if I were Ben Simmons
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2. Golden State Warriors
Out of all of the teams that have been connected to Ben Simmons, the Warriors have by far the most assets to give to land him. Them landing Simmons is likely dependent on how badly they want him and how much they are actually willing to give to execute a deal. Regardless, Ben Simmons makes a lot of sense there. Because he is such a fantastic athlete and can’t shoot, you need to give him as much space to operate as possible so he can attack the rim, who are better players to help space the the floor than Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson? Simmons is also one of the best playmakers in the game in terms of being able to drive and kick, the cohesion between the Splash Bros and Simmons would have a chance to be incredible. Not to mention, Steph and Klay could teach Simmons a thing or two about the art of shooting. Ben Simmons also would get his rumored wish, to end up in California. Most importantly, the Warriors could be right in the title mix as soon as next year, Ben would have a golden opportunity, like Lebron James did after the 2011 finals, to get his respect back from the media, players, and front offices around the league, if he bounces back.
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Minnesota Timberwolves
Throughout the offseason, it has seemed like the Timberwolves have been the team that has been the most brought up in Ben Simmons trade rumors. According to Jon Krawczysnki of The Athletic, the odds of Simmons ending up Minnesota has increased the past couple weeks, which makes sense, because Minnesota is the most logical team for Ben Simmons. With Minnesota, Simmons would be joining two other fellow number one overall picks under the age of 26 years old in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, this core would have a lot of time to grow with each other.
Simmons and Joel Embiid hasn’t worked too well as a duo because they both need to rely on getting inside to generate buckets. With KAT, in contrast to Embiid, Simmons would be playing alongside the best shooting center we have ever seen, who is also very good at finding cutters, the lane would be open for Simmons and he would have more opportunities to get to his spots.
Simmons has his flaws as a scorer and those negatives can pop when you ask him to take a significant role. In Minnesota, je would not have to asked to create off the dribble to an uncomfortable degree because they would be asking KAT and Ant to generate the majority of the offense. Simmons would just need to facilitate and attack the rim offensively, which is best, for now. Defensively, we are all aware of Minnesota’s shortcomings, Simmons would be Minnesota’s defensive anchor, and his value would pop for them, in that sense. Long story short, because Minnesota’s young talent fits the timeline of Simmons, because Minnesota has the scoring and spacing to overcome Simmons’ offensive short comings, because Minnesota’s defensive flaws are addressable with Simmons on the roster, and because Minneapolis is a smaller, more forgiving market than Philadelphia, located in fly-over country he can stay away from the spotlight and simply worry about basketball. Simmons to the Timberwolves makes too much sense. Simmons would eventually need to expand his game to take the Timberwolves, or whatever team he gets traded to, to the next level, but what he brings to the table would immediately elevate Minnesota’s current positioning in the West, as well as their long-term outlook.