Ben Simmons finally appears to be on the trade market after weeks of speculation about his future with the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid.
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The once promising player, who won Rookie of the Year and looked like the perfect fit and second star next to franchise super star Joel Embiid may have his days numbered in the city that drafted him.
Simmons’ stock really fell after the Eastern Conference Semi Finals where played horribly. His lack of a jumpshot came back to bite the Sixers. Simmons has a lot of promise, he’s an excellent defender (DPOY nominee) and a great facilitator, but his entire game needs to improve if he wants to be part of a championship team.
Could that team be the Warriors, if they’re interested in a trade? Colin Cowherd certainly believes so.
“I think Ben Simmons answers a lot of questions for Golden State. He gives you size and would get the ball to Klay and Steph.”
— @ColinCowherd on why the Warriors are the ideal trade partners for the Sixers: pic.twitter.com/gHEdc9BgMv
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 13, 2021
Could Ben Simmons Fit In With Steph Curry And The Golden State Warriors?
Ben Simmons on the Golden State Warriors is a very interesting proposition. It could help the Warriors out in a lot of ways, but it could also backfire and mess with their system and team chemistry.
Golden State is a very shoot-happy team. With Curry drilling daggers from all over the court and Klay Thompson finally coming back next season, it’s safe to say that they’re going to shoot A LOT.
Simmons’ game doesn’t exactly fit in with that brand of basketball if you haven’t noticed. If the Warriors were to trade for him, he could potentially destroy their spacing, leaving less open shots for Steph and Klay.
With the team already lacking consistent shooters outside of the Splash Bros, this could be a very risky move for the Warriors. Draymond Green already occupies Ben Simmons role in a way as he’s looked on to be the main facilitator on the Warriors while also being their defensive anchor.
Adding Ben Simmons, then, would be redundant. However, Simmons is a much more skillful slasher and scorer at this point in both their careers, and while Draymond is still an elite defender and great playmaker, Simmons offers both those skills with a much higher upside.
Additionally, if the Warriors can find lineups in which they have a decent amount of shooters, their spacing wouldn’t be compromised too much, and that would open far more driving lanes for Simmons, pushing him to be aggressive and attack the basket.
When Simmons is driving down the lane, converting tough layups and battling it down in the post, that’s when he’s the best. With teams having to focus so much on Curry and Thompson, Simmons’ presence could go unnoticed.
In short, there’s no way to gauge how Simmons would fit on Golden State until he actually goes there (if that’s even happening). The Warriors could take a swing for the fences and see if the Simmons risk is worth it enough to make another title run.
