Bill Simmons believes there’s no way in heaven or hell that Jaylen Brown gets traded for Ben Simmons by Brad Stevens.
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According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Sixers and Celtics have talked about a potential trade involving Ben Simmons. Sixers would be asking for Jaylen Brown to be part of any trade package for Simmons.
Both the All-Stars are of the same age and came into the league in the same draft. But are now leagues apart when talking about their values to the teams.
Simmons was the first draft pick of their class while Brown was third. Simmons was the Rookie of the year and made it to 3 All-star appearances, 2 All-Defensive First Teams. While Brown has just made an All-Star appearance. Still, somehow this trade would make no sense to the Boston Celtics.
Also read: Kendrick Perkins shares his thoughts on the rumoured trade between Celtics and Sixers
Sixers seeking Jaylen Brown for Ben Simmons
While there is a weird air in Boston since the start of this campaign, they must not have lost their minds enough to trade Jaylen Brown for Ben Simmons. Even Bill Simmons agrees, the founder of The Ringer and The Bill Simmons podcast tweeted a funny post on the subject.
“Hey, Daryl, it’s Brad.”
“Hey.”
“What’s going on with that guy who quit on your team and now does the bare minimum and completely torpedoed his trade value? Any interest in discussing a deal?”
“We’d want Jaylen Brown.”
“OK, I’m hanging up. Have a great rest of the day!”
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 8, 2021
Ben Simmons is one of the best overall defenders in the league, without a doubt. Jaylen is a great on-ball defender and his perimeter defense was remarkable last term. But it is on the offensive end of the floor where the two differ, Jaylen has averaged over 20 and 24 points in his last two seasons, a significant increase over his first three seasons. While Simmons’ average has been decreasing over the last two years, he wasn’t even a big scorer to start with and has never averaged over 16.9 points.
It is not all good in Boston though, there has been tension between Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart recently. Boston Celtics are going through a rough patch, they have lost 6 out of the 10 matches and its stars have been going back and forth at each other in front of the whole world.
Have there been precipitating events leading up to this rumor?
Last week Smart questioned Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s playmaking skills and his own lack of ball usage because of the design of their every play is for the duo.
While Simmons could come in and help the Celtics in creating plays, they surely would not be able to replace Brown’s scoring ability even if Sixers include another player with Simmons. Brown has been Celtics’ top scorer this season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Would it be too absurd if Boston somehow even indulge in the talks for this trade? Although an offensive game of Jaylen’s calibre should not be compared with a guy who could not even develop a jumper in 5 years, being a point guard of a top NBA team, playmaking is the area where Simmons could make a significant difference. The Cs need both playmaking as well as shooting so this is a lateral move.
