Until the start of the 2021-22 season or a trade actually happens, rumors surrounding Ben Simmons being dealt by the Philadelphia 76ers will continue. While the team should explore their options, Simmons should be keeping tabs on teams he would like to be on as well.
In the age of player empowerment, stars have a level of say so in where they go. There’s no reason why Simmons shouldn’t have several teams he should want to go to. With that in mind, there are at least five teams he should want to be next year.
It should be noted that the inspiration for this article is from when Jay Williams of ESPN made his own list of teams Simmons should want to be on. While there is one overlap in my list and Williams’ lists, there are some perspectives that he didn’t touch on that I will. Each team will have a hypothetical trade attached to it as well.
5 teams Simmons should want to be traded to: Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are in the middle rebuild and if Simmons wants to be on a team that has no pressure to win then the Rockets are an ideal team. They don’t have a franchise-level player as John Wall is past his prime at this point in his career.
Assuming that they retain Kelly Olynyk in free agency, the Rockets have two stretch big men in Olynyk and Christian Wood that work perfectly with Simmons. Houston has the personal to surround Simmons with shooting and allow him to be “the man” with that franchise. Below is a potential trade to help Simmons land on the Rockets.
The Rockets alone wouldn’t have enough to get a plausible deal done, so bring in the Thunder allows Houston to offload Wall’s contract. It also allows the Sixers to get a quality player in Kemba Walker that fits with Joel Embiid.
The Sixers get Walker, a young prospect in Kevin Porter Jr., and two early 20s first round picks in this up-and-coming draft. Considering that Simmons’ value is low, this is a good starting point for trade talks. The Sixers may want the Rockets’ second overall pick, but it seems unlikely they would give that up.
The Rockets get their guy and the Thunder get a shorter contract in Wall’s and get the Milwaukee’s Bucks 2023 first round pick. The Rockets decided to send James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets and missed out on Simmons earlier this season, but now they have a chance to correct their mistake. If Simmons wants to be the lone star without any major pressure, then Houston seems like an ideal fit.