The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to engage with the Ben Simmons trade market this offseason. While I remain unconvinced a deal good enough to pique Daryl Morey’s interest will come along, there are several teams who should try to add the three-time All-Star.
At just 24 years old, Simmons is a perennial All-Star candidate and a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. He guards all five positions, creates more 3s for teammates than any player in the league, and was the NBA steals champ in 2020. Even after a postseason flameout, he provides more than enough value to stir up interest league-wide.
Here are teams who should try to steal Ben Simmons away while the price is low.
5 teams that should trade for Ben Simmons: Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC has set itself up for a long and fruitful rebuild, with a genuine cornerstone in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the No. 6 pick in July’s NBA Draft, and a smorgasbord of future assets. They can burn some of those assets on Simmons — a 24-year-old All-Star — and still have plenty of flexibility for future trades or free agents.
Simmons would give the Thunder a defensive backbone with the versatility to fill various roles in the rotation. He would split time with Gilgeous-Alexander as a ball-handler, but unlike Philadelphia, the Thunder have a table-setter to rely on down the stretch. He could also be unleashed as a screener or as a small-ball center, with several long, skillful players around him in the rotation — Darius Bazley, Aleksej Pokusevski, Lu Dort, and so forth.
With the Thunder’s mountain of draft capital, there’s no reason the team can’t edge toward contention and still reap the benefits of young talent. Simmons and Gilgeous-Alexander would form a formidable duo on both sides of the ball, and OKC would have the makings of a tough, physical team. No ready to win a championship, but firmly angled in the right direction.
Simmons would act as a bridge to the next stage of OKC’s rebuild. He would doubtlessly make them a better team, and he’s geared to make the teammates around him better, too. The Thunder would also be able to bestow upon Simmons a level of responsibility Philadelphia has not been able to, and perhaps unlock a new level of aggression and production. At worst, getting traded to OKC would be a wake-up call for Simmons, and as fresh a start as he’ll ever get.