Ranking the 5 NBA Teams That Need to Trade for Ben Simmons Most
At the risk of shattering the record for the biggest understatement ever made, it doesn't seem like things between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers are going well.
The latest development in this prolonged separation process involves Simmons' "refusal to accept organizational assistance to address his mental readiness to play," per a report from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski.
If Simmons ever plays another second for the Sixers, it'll be a shock. He is going to play, though. It will just be somewhere else.
A little more than two weeks into the season, we're getting a better sense of where that ought to be. Sure, we're going to overreact to some small samples here. But as wins and losses go into the books, and as we learn more about each team's strengths and weaknesses, it gets easier to see where Simmons would fit best.
5. New Orleans Pelicans
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The significant swath of Louisianans who are still disenchanted by his checked-out work at LSU would have a lot to say about it, but Ben Simmons suddenly makes more sense than ever for the New Orleans Pelicans.
And yes, this is a wild, panicked overreaction to the Zion Williamson situation.
Call me a pessimist, but the combination of Zion's family's reported discontent, his conspicuously poor conditioning, the franchise's mismanaged messaging around his latest injury and the fact that he's missed so much time already makes it feel like—for one reason or another—Williamson is not going to be the win-generating superstar face of this franchise.
That's not to say Simmons will. But at least he's been part of some playoff teams and, other than his lost rookie season, has been in shape and healthy for most of his career.
Without question, the fully healthy and committed version of Williamson is more promising and exciting than Simmons. But how can anyone believe that version of Zion will ever play for the Pelicans? This is a risk-mitigation play for New Orleans, one that would be complicated by some tricky salary-matching work in any hypothetical swap built around Simmons and Williamson. But the idea here is to find teams that "need to trade" for Simmons most, and the Pelicans fit that criteria more snugly by the day.
The longer Williamson sits out and the more the losses mount, the greater the need for change. Simmons is far from a perfect fit in New Orleans for a multitude of reasons, but he's an available star on a long-term contract. Measured against a potential best-case scenario in which Williamson gets healthy and leaves via free agency or trade demand, Simmons starts to look pretty good.
The fact that we're giving a Simmons-to-New Orleans move a fleeting thought tells you how dire the straits are getting for both parties.
4. Phoenix Suns
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The issues troubling the Phoenix Suns—uninspired defense, dreadful shooting from Devin Booker and Jae Crowder, only a single win against a team that made last year's playoffs—will probably correct themselves over time. The Suns made the Finals last year and returned just about everyone who mattered in that effort; patience is the sound play here.
But if Phoenix wants to take a light-years approach in hopes of extending this run beyond Chris Paul's time as an All-Star-caliber player (which could end at literally any second, given his age), might it make some sense to invest in another young piece?
Paul would probably satisfy the Sixers' "transformative star or bust" asking price for Simmons, and he'd slot in at the point perfectly, giving Joel Embiid the best pick-and-roll partner he could possibly imagine. Simmons would fit into the age band shared by Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton better than Paul does—while also giving Phoenix a possible alternative at (small ball) center if Ayton winds up departing in restricted free agency.
Simmons to Phoenix is out there, but considering all that, it's not all the way out there.
For good reason, this is the type of move that never happens. It requires a potentially dominant team, the Suns, to prioritize something other than the immediate.
The Suns re-upped with Paul because they believe he's good enough to keep them among the contender class of the league. A couple of tough weeks, during which he's played well, won't change that thinking. Then again, CP3 is on borrowed time as a top-tier player.
With Booker and Bridges locked up on long deals, the Suns will be fine when Paul eventually ages out of his late prime. But they could set themselves up for another five years of contention by swapping in a facilitating star who's a decade younger and more defensively impactful.
The Suns' window is still open, but it depends entirely on a 17-year vet continuing to defy the aging curve. If Phoenix isn't completely convinced it can win it all this year, there's logic to getting younger—especially if it might bring several more years of realistic title expectations.
3. Portland Trail Blazers
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Apparently, changing head coaches didn't magically fix the Portland Trail Blazers defense.
Through his first seven games in charge, Chauncey Billups has the Blazers defending at a clip that ranks 23rd in the league—better than the No. 29 spot where Terry Stotts left them at the end of last season, but certainly not good.
Maybe a personnel change will do the trick. Simmons, an All-Defensive first-teamer two years running, is as likely to invigorate Portland's defense as anyone in the league, while also fitting into Billups' offense. Under Stotts, the Blazers were almost exclusively a pick-and-roll team. Simmons would have been wasted standing on the perimeter watching Damian Lillard cook. Billups' emphasis on passing and movement could play to Simmons' strengths—or at least keep his weaknesses from standing out so much.
If the Sixers continue to insist on Lillard in return, the Simmons fit would still make sense. He'd be on the ball plenty with a Dame-less Portland team, as CJ McCollum could function just fine as a spot-shooter or second-side attacker. Alternatively, Simmons and McCollum could work some magic as a pick-and-roll tandem in small lineups that feature three other shooters around the perimeter.
If Philly is willing to accept a package headlined by McCollum, which becomes increasingly likely the longer this drags on, the Blazers get even more interesting. One would imagine adding Simmons, a star in his prime, would go a long way toward keeping Lillard happy. Even if the franchise icon continues to profess his commitment to Portland, a talent infusion of this magnitude could put the "When's Dame leaving?" narrative to bed for good.
And, obviously, a Simmons-Lillard tandem is just objectively more potent than a Simmons-McCollum duo.
The West looks wide-open, and adding Simmons could address Portland's contention-preventing defensive issues while also quieting that persistent concern about Lillard leaving.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
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The Minnesota Timberwolves, and specifically their top-five defense, are one of the early season's biggest surprises. While the cynic could cite poor opponent three-point shooting as the main driver of that unexpected success, the better course might be to trust there's something real behind it.
Minnesota has a shot to embrace an identity here. After so many years of shoddy defensive work, the Wolves could lean all the way into this recent trend and establish themselves as stoppers. Ben Simmons has been a clean theoretical fit on this roster forever, but he makes even more sense now. Adding an All-Defensive stud just as Minnesota suddenly has reason to believe in itself on D could prevent whatever regression might otherwise be on the way.
Simmons would fortify this defense, adding proven strength to, well...unproven strength. He could make these defensive gains real.
All the old reasons to trade for Simmons remain, the main one being Minnesota's poor track record of adding top talent through free agency. Of course, the main reason a trade is so prohibitively difficult also persists: Unless D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley are personal favorites of Daryl Morey, the Wolves need a third team's involvement to build a package Philadelphia would consider.
Simmons makes so much sense as a gap-filler on a roster built around offense-first options Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. He always has. The Wolves have started Jaden McDaniels in every game, while Josh Okogie and Jarred Vanderbilt have split time with the first unit—all in an effort to cover for their stars' defensive shortcomings. It's worked, but at a price. Minnesota's offense has been as bad to almost as surprising a degree as its defense has been good.
Simmons would reduce the necessity of that tradeoff. He could thrive with KAT spacing the floor and Edwards, eventually, running things down the stretch of games. Minnesota's transition attack has been very good to this point, but Simmons could elevate it to top-of-league status.
Ultimately, Minnesota has always been a terrific fit for Simmons' game. This early defensive success only makes his addition more appealing.
1. Sacramento Kings
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Thanks in no small measure to rookie Davion Mitchell's relentlessly intense influence, the Sacramento Kings are playing with more defensive ferocity than usual. The sound and fury have signified very little, though, as the Kings still check in among the bottom 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions.
As with Portland (and Minnesota, if you're a skeptic), Simmons would provide a defensive shot in the arm for a team that needs one.
More than that, De'Aaron Fox has been stunningly ineffective this year. Lacking his trademark bursts of speed, finishing at the rim less efficiently than ever and still unreliable from long range, the Kings' purported cornerstone looks a little crumbly. With Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton appearing more than capable of handling the starting backcourt duties on rookie-scale deals, it might be time to swap out the maximum-salaried guard for a frontcourt weapon.
Whether the Sixers would have interest in Fox as a centerpiece of a Simmons deal now is an open question. He's been that bad relative to expectations. But The Athletic's Sam Amick reported in September that Philly and Sacramento talked about a Simmons deal, and that the Kings wouldn't put Fox on the table at that time. This suggests the 76ers had interest in the lefty point guard at one point. Perhaps they still have eyes on him.
According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Simmons wants to play for a team in California. The Kings might not be the glitziest of his West Coast options, but they'd provide the biggest role and lowest-pressure environment. And considering the lengths an unhappy Simmons has gone to during his holdout, it's unusually important that he lands someplace he prefers. When looking at which teams need Simmons most, we can't just ignore the fact that he seems unlikely to address those needs if said team isn't one for which he wants to play. His contentment matters.
The Kings need a boost. They need to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They need to balance out the roster. They need to be relevant in a way that makes them something other than the team you'll watch on League Pass only when none of the other Pacific Division teams are playing in the late time slot.
Simmons won't instantly transform one of the league's most woebegone franchises all on his own. But he'll help in that effort more than the current version of Fox has.
