Sixers: 3 reasons to trade Ben Simmons for draft picks
By Ben Wieland
When Ben Simmons trade discussions began this offseason, most proposals were formed around one idea: the Sixers would be able to flip Simmons (and perhaps other assets) for a player that immediately bolstered the team’s championship odds.
After months of the drawn-out Simmons saga, it’s clear that assumption is no longer correct. Here are three reasons the Sixers should stop chasing stars for the time being and instead use Simmons to stock up on future draft picks.
3 reasons to trade Simmons for picks: There are no stars currently on the table
As the NBA offseason has progressed, the list of players available in a Simmons deal has shortened considerably. The two players the Sixers seemed to be most enamored with — Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal — reaffirmed their commitments to Portland and Washington, respectively.
Even players in the tier below those two blue-chip stars seem to be locked in with their current rosters as the season draws closer. In free agency, the Bulls declared they were going all-in with massive sign-and-trade deals for Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan, which takes Zach LaVine off the table for now. Even Sacramento has leaked that they won’t consider moving De’Aaron Fox, another potential Sixers target, for Simmons.
Today, the rumored packages are so uninspiring that it’s hard to believe that a Simmons-for-James Harden swap was legitimately on the table less than a year ago. Players like D’Angelo Russell, C.J. McCollum, and Darius Garland are solid contributors — McCollum, the best of the three, is even a borderline All-Star — but aren’t exactly enticing blockbuster trade centerpieces.
More. Predicting collateral damage of a Simmons deal. light
Warts and all, Ben Simmons is a three-time All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year runner-up at just 25 years old. None of the players currently being offered for him have anywhere near that pedigree.
If the Sixers end up dealing Simmons for one of these packages of role players who are all clearly worse than Simmons, it’s hard to imagine the trade being anything more than a lateral move. Sure, the team’s probably not winning a title as currently constructed, but they aren’t winning a title with C.J. McCollum either.