Sixers: Realistic Ben Simmons trade targets

Realistic Ben Simmons trades: Sixers acquire Bradley Beal

Finally we get to the Bradley Beal trade. He’s been the white whale of the Sixers fan base for a while now, and for good reason. At 27 years old, he just finished second in the NBA in scoring, and this was his second straight season averaging over 30 points per game. Straight up, this dude gets buckets. He can get his shot from anywhere, gives 110 percent every night, and has been wasting away on a terrible Wizards team. Sixers fans are intimately familiar with Beal’s game after he dropped 60 on them earlier this year. What else is there to say about him? FREE THIS MAN.

This trade is the Wizards fully pushing the reset button by giving them a group of solid young players and increased financial flexibility. Washington seems to be going nowhere fast and this might be their last chance to squeeze as much value out of Beal as possible before he inevitably demands a trade. Simmons, Maxey, and Milton give you three young players to get your fanbase excited, and George Hill is guaranteed less than $1.3 million of his 2021-22 salary. This also gets rid of the Bertans contract, which doesn’t look great for the Wizards after a rough season.

The on court fit would be interesting to watch. Ben Simmons and Russel Westbrook likely wouldn’t be a long term pairing since they do so many similar things on the court (like missing free throws and putting up meaningless triple-doubles. I’m kidding… sort of.) Jokes aside, Simmons would probably end up playing a lot of center for this team and their pace would be ridiculous. Westbrook and Simmons are both deadly on the fast break and I can already imagine the highlights. They would probably eventually move Westbrook in order to double down on the full rebuild. This is probably the best opportunity for Simmons, who would be able to really find himself as a player on a team that won’t have any expectations. Maxey and Milton are just icing on the cake and both look like they’re going to be solid contributors very soon.

This trade probably makes the most sense for the Sixers as well, because it allows them to fill some needs without completely destroying their depth. Beal is obviously a great fit on a team that desperately needs someone that can create their own shots. He’s shown recently that he can serve as a secondary ball-handler when the situation calls for it, but this team would probably still be in the market for a true point guard. Bertans is exactly the kind of player the Sixers have been looking for as their backup four, and even though he’s not on the best contract, he checks a lot of boxes for them. He provides offense and 3-point shooting off the bench, arguably one of this team’s biggest weaknesses this year. This trade simply makes too much sense for the Sixers not to at least kick the tires, and in my opinion this is the most realistic option that makes sense for both teams.