Sunday night the Philadelphia 76ers’ season ended in agonizing fashion, losing at home to the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks. After all the talk about good vibes and how this year felt different, they looked like the same old 76ers in the fourth quarter, completely unable to get quality shots in the halfcourt and begging Ben Simmons to be aggressive on offense.
There is a lot of blame to place at a lot of feet, but certainly no one will receive as much criticism as Ben Simmons. As much as I have defended Simmons, there’s no denying that this season was a huge letdown for him. During the regular season, Simmons averaged 14.3 points per game, which was already a career low. In this Atlanta series he averaged just 9.9 points per game, an embarrassing number that’s frankly just not good enough. Whether it’s a mental block, or an attitude issue, or something deeper, Ben is obviously hesitant and uncomfortable on the offensive end of the floor and that discomfort just cost these 76ers a potential championship.
A Game 7 flameout feels like the end of Ben Simmons in Philadelphia. How might the Sixers move on?
It seems a foregone conclusion that the Philadelphia front office will try to move Ben Simmons this offseason. The hard part is figuring out exactly what his trade value is at this point. At only 24 years old, he has three All-Star appearances, two All-Defensive appearances, and just finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. Despite the impressive resume, the entire narrative surrounding Simmons right now is about what he can’t do (score), and for good reason. But the fact remains that he has significant value because of what he brings to the defensive end of the floor.
A lot of his value will be determined on an individual basis by the feelings of each individual front office and also by how desperately they think they need to make a move. The Sixers need to target a bonafide number two scorer in any Ben Simmons trade, and ideally would like to get a legitimate table-setter as well. No team that thinks they are constructed to win a championship right now will trade for Simmons because of the risk he represents, but there are a few teams either going nowhere or going the wrong way that might be willing to take a flyer to change their fortunes.
Realistic Ben Simmons trades: Sixers acquire Zach LaVine
This is the trade the 76ers probably should’ve sought back before the deadline. Zach LaVine emerged as a bonafide star this year, averaging a career high in points (27.4), assists (4,9), rebounds (5.0), and 3-point percentage (.419). Back then, we probably could’ve made this trade happen for Ben Simmons and LaVine straight up plus salary filler, but Simmons’ value has dropped while LaVine’s has risen since then. Right now, this might not even be enough to get LaVine, who has shown this year that he is one of the league’s premiere scorers and seems ready to compete for a championship now.
The Bulls only consider this trade if they decide that this iteration of the team isn’t working (it isn’t). After making a huge deadline deal to bring Nikola Vucevic to Chicago, the Bulls finished the season 31-41 and didn’t even make the play-in tournament in the East. They went 12-17 after the trade and the fit between Lavine and Vucevic seemed clunky at best. This trade allows them to hit the reset button while maintaining a competitive roster.
Simmons should be a solid fit next to Vucevic, who can cover for some of Simmons’ shortcomings by stretching the floor while Simmons helps bring some defensive chops to a team that badly needs it. The Bulls can try to recoup some of the scoring they lose with Shake Milton, who has shown in flashes that he’s capable of handling a heavier load on offense. Milton is also on a very team friendly contract, making just under $4 million over the next two seasons with a team option in 2022-23.
The benefits for the Sixers are obvious. Zach LaVine is the ideal number two scorer, able to work with the ball in his hands when Embiid is off the court but active enough off-ball to keep the defense honest when Embiid is working in the post. LaVine’s presence would give the Sixers three lethal shooters in their starting five with Curry and Harris, and would allow Harris to serve as the team’s number three scorer, a role he seems better suited for. Meanwhile, the Sixers solve another of their biggest issues by bringing back Thaddeus Young to serve as their backup big. Young, who just turned 33 and spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia, showed this year that he still has a lot left in the tank and can be a solid contributor. If the Bulls bite on this the Sixers would be a fool not to take it, simply because of how seamless the on court fit would be.
Realistic Ben Simmons trades: Sixers acquire CJ McCollum, Robert Covington
The Trail Blazers and 76ers are in similar situations as organizations right now, each scratching their heads as they’ve wasted another season of their superstars’ primes. Just as the Sixers have faced questions about Simmons’ ability to be a number two, Portland has dealt with criticisms that CJ McCollum isn’t qualified to be Damian Lillard’s Robin. They’re probably right. However, that isn’t to say that McCollum isn’t an extremely gifted player. Before he was injured, CJ was on fire, and finished the season with career highs in points (23.1) and assists (4.7). He also shot over 40 percent from 3 and only had 1.4 turnovers per game. This was arguably the best season of his career, but his fit next to Lillard will always be questioned because they both have the same weakness: on-ball defense.
This trade makes a lot of sense for Portland because Ben Simmons is a perfect fit next to Dame. They each make up perfectly for the other’s shortcomings, which is exactly what a sidekick should do. Simmons is a historically great perimeter defender, which will allow him to cover for Lillard. He could also be utilized more as a roller on offense, and the thought of Ben catching lobs from Dame every night should have Portland fans salivating.
The hardest part of this trade for the Sixers might be letting Seth Curry go after he shot the lights out through the 2021 playoffs. He just had undoubtedly his best year as a pro and looks to be on one of the best value contracts in the NBA. I don’t see the Trail Blazers making this trade without Curry included, simply because they are losing a ton of offense in McCollum. Covington, the former Sixers fan favorite, can make up for some of the loss on the defensive end for Philly. He would, however, be a somewhat clunky fit next to Tobias Harris, as they both naturally play the four, meaning Covington would likely have to slide down to the three, which he has done in the past.
I would suspect the Sixers’ starting lineup would be Maxey-McCollum-Covington-Harris-Embiid. I’m still not sure that gives them enough juice on offense, but it’s certainly different. I know everyone wants to see a Simmons for Lillard trade, but that’s just not realistic now after how bad Ben looked throughout these playoffs. This unfortunately might be the best they can do.
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.