Fringe players Sixers should target in Ben Simmons trade: Dylan Windler
The Cavs’ interest in Ben Simmons has been difficult to fully understand, but there’s no doubt Cleveland is a team to watch. Simmons puts them closer to a long-awaited playoff berth, and provides a new backbone for a long-suffering defense.
For the Sixers, any interest will likely revolve around Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. That said, Dylan Windler is another name to watch. After losing his “first” NBA season to injury, the 2019 first-round pick debuted as a rookie last season. His playing time was limited, appearing in 33 games and averaging 16.5 minutes per. That said, the signs are there.
Not long ago, Windler was one of the best shooters in college basketball. The Sixers have a good track record of helping shooters succeed. Ben Simmons has been a big part of that, but even bigger is Joel Embiid, who likes nothing more than a sweet shooter to run two-man actions with. Windler hit 33.8 percent of his 3s as a rookie, but expect that number to improve drastically over time.
Windler is also 6-foot-6, with enough size to guard either wing position. The Sixers’ glut of small guards could prove troublesome with some of the other players mentioned on this list, especially if a Simmons trade returns another small guard (which it almost certainly would if Cleveland is the destination). Getting strong complementary players who have size and some level of versatility is important. Windler can defend pretty well.
He has been mostly in the shadows with Cleveland so far, but a sophomore breakout feels highly plausible for Windler. The Cavs have put a premium on shooters this summer, and Windler’s path to minutes behind Isaac Okoro isn’t very crowded. That is, unless he’s a Sixer.