There might finally be traction on the Ben Simmons trade front. The Philadelphia 76ers have begun their season without their disgruntled All-Star and when healthy they have been looking capable without his services.
However, it’s not ideal to have to endure without his level of talent on the roster and thankfully for the Sixers and their fans, it looks like there has been a cry for Simmons to play elsewhere. According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (subscription required for the link in the tweet), Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has let it be known that he would like to play with Simmons.
This is good news, but of course, it would be better if Lillard demanded a trade to the Sixers, but still, it gets the wheels on a Simmons trade moving in the right direction.
How to get the Sixers’ star Simmons to Portland.
If Simmons does join Lillard in Portland, any trade would have to center around CJ McCollum and picks. I recently wrote about a potential deal that would send McCollum in exchange for Simmons but knowing that the Blazers will be willing to pay more, that deal I proposed could use another first round pick or two from Portland in it.
In that proposed the Sixers would send Simmons and Paul Reed in exchange for McCollum and Nassir Little plus picks. Getting McCollum would complicate things with Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry in the lineup. Both are defensive liabilities and so is McCollum, so one, if not both may have to be delegated to a bench role to help strengthen the perimeter defense.
That being written, McCollum would give them a proven go-to perimeter scorer at the end of games. McCollum would improve the Sixers’ offense as a whole and his presence would strengthen the bench unit by default with Maxey and/or Curry being delegated to a sixth man role.
Lillard get’s a co-star that isn’t a high volume scorer and would instantly improve the perimeter defense in Simmons. Reed helps their big man depth as well. Simmons would fix a lot of problems that the Blazers have on the defensive end and give them more balance on offense.
Does Lillard get the teammate he reportedly wants? Only time will tell, but the Sixers should certainly entertain the idea.