ESPN: Six Trade Ideas for Ben Simmons

The Ben Simmons saga will continue until he is traded to another team. I don't really see him playing for the Sixers again, but they claim they won't move him until they find a deal that makes sense to make the team better.

A source tells John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, that the team continues to maintain that unless they get a player that will help them win a championship, they will not trade Simmons.

How long will they wait?  Per Clark, four years.

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However, at this point, it seems quite obvious that Simmons doesn't want to be in Philly anymore and the Sixers might have to reposition their thoughts and move him - even if they don't want to.

"It just was a mistake to let it get to this point," said ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler on the Sports Bash. "Ben Simmons was trying to tell the team, he himself knew, that he could not play in Philadelphia anymore after hat happened with that Atlanta series."

"He tried to tell them for months, they didn't listen," Legler said.

Legler told me on The Sports Bash on Tuesday Wednesday that there are three options:

1. Force him to play, by squeezing him financially.

2. Pay him to stay away from the team, or keep suspending him.

3. Move him. Which seems to be more difficult.

More Sixers: How Long With the Simmons' Drama Last?

So lets look closer at option three. ESPN NBA insiders came up with these six trade ideas for Simmons.

Ben Simmons to Sacramento for three players

Kings get:
Ben Simmons

76ers get:
Buddy Hield
Tyrese Haliburton
Marvin Bagley III

From André Snellings:

Haliburton is another big point guard who is coming off a strong rookie campaign and would be a core player who could fit immediately into Simmons' starting role. Hield's outstanding long-range shooting would give the 76ers a different dimension as they try again to leap to the championship-level tier.

Hield and Seth Curry on the court simultaneously, getting open shots created by the defensive attention drawn by Joel Embiid, is a scary thought. Bagley was the No. 2 overall pick in the draft just three years ago, and if he can shed his injury-prone label, he still has a mountain of potential.

Simmons for Lillard

Trail Blazers get:
Ben Simmons
Tyrese Maxey
Two first-round picks

76ers get:
Damian Lillard

From Jorge Sedano

I know Portland is not keen on the idea of parting with Lillard. However, I still believe Simmons is a franchise-type player. He would still be surrounded by a good supporting cast that includes McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. Simmons is an excellent distributor and definitely improves the Blazers' porous defense (they ranked 29th last season). Maxey is a young player with plenty of upside who got invaluable experience playing in the playoffs last season. Not to mention, Portland would add two first-round picks to help bolster the roster either via the draft or trade.

 

Simmons for CJ

Trail Blazers get:
Ben Simmons

76ers get:
CJ McCollum
Nassir Little
Future first-round pick (two years after Philly's first-rounder to Chicago is conveyed)

From Tim MacMahon

McCollum has never been an All-Star, but he might realistically be the best player Philadelphia can get in return for Simmons at this point.

 

Chicago feels bullish on Simmons

Bulls get:
Ben Simmons

76ers get:
Zach LaVine
Derrick Jones Jr.

From Tim Bontemps

LaVine isn't a perfect player by any stretch -- particularly defensively. But if there's any team that can make up for those deficiencies, it is Philadelphia, which can surround him with above-average or better players at that end at just about every position, including arguably the league's most dominant interior defender in Embiid.

 

Simmons to Minnesota to pair with KAT and Anthony Edwards

Timberwolves get:
Ben Simmons

76ers get:
D'Angelo Russell
2022 protected first-round pick (top-3 protected in 22, top-2 protected in 23 and unprotected in 2024)
2024 protected first-round pick (two years after the 2022 first is conveyed -- top-5 protected, top-3 protected and top-1 protected)

From Bobby Marks

The trade with Minnesota for Simmons checks the boxes on what Philadelphia is hoping to accomplish. Philadelphia receives an All-Star-caliber point guard back in Russell and two potential lottery picks.

 

Send Ben to Cleveland

Cavaliers get:
Ben Simmons

76ers get:
Kevin Love
2022 first-round pick (unprotected)
2024 first-round pick (top-4 protected in 2024, unprotected in 2025)
2026 first-round pick (available two years after 2024 pick conveys, top-4 protected in 2026 and 2027, unprotected in 2028)

From Kevin Pelton

Both sides would be taking huge risks here. Cleveland risks giving up multiple high picks if Simmons doesn't lead the team back to the playoffs, while Philadelphia could be parting with Simmons for only middling picks and have to pay Love the remaining $60 million and change on his contract.

Here is how I would rank these deals

1. Simmons for Dame Lillard - This is obvious, I have maintained the Sixers won't make a deal to make them different, but better.  This is a deal where they become a better team, adding Lillard gives them that big-time scorer with Joel Embiid they are missing.  It also allows Tobias Harris to settle in as the No. 3 scoring option.

2. Simmons for Zach LaVine - While Zach LaVine isn't a very good defensive player, he is a tremendous scoring option next to Embiid, which was on full display in the Bulls opener.  LaVine exploded for 34 points with seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block on Wednesday.

3. Simmons for D'Angelo Russell - While Im not a huge Russell fan, he would be a nice secondary score for Embiid, moving Harris to a No. 3 scoring role.  His defense isn't very good, but gives the team a primary ball-handler and is an 80% free-throw shooter for late game situations, an area in which Simmons obviously struggled. Getting the extra first-round picks allows the Sixers to add more talent, which getting a player who can help them today.

4. Simmons for CJ McCollum - Much like these some of these other deals, CJ McCollum adds more scoring, but isn't a very good defender.  A backcourt with McCollum and Seth Curry is going to have a tough time defensively, but will be able to score. McCollum has scored 34 and 26 points so far in his two games this season, and would provide plenty of secondary offense for Embiid, making Harris a No. 3 option. Adding Nasir Little and a first-round pick give the team more depth.

5. Simmons for Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton - Everybody seems to like Haliburton, who is a big guard, who connected on 40% of his three's and 85% from the free-throw line as a rookie.  Hield is another player who can shoot from 3-point range, and would have plenty of looks with Embiid in the fold.

6. Simmons for Kevin Love and three first-round picks - This would be the most surprising of the six ideas.  Love still has two-year and $60 million left on his contract and is getting to the end of the line it seems at 33-years old. This deal would be more if the team was in rebuilding mode, wanting picks than win-now mode with a player who could help them win with Joel Embidd.

So Sixers fans, which of these trades is your favorite?