For all intents and purposes Ben Simmons is done with the Philadelphia 76ers. Every bridge has been burned and there is far too much bad blood there. In fact, it has been reported that Simmons is now going to extreme lengths to get out of Philly.
The question at this juncture is: where will the 25-year-old end up?
Although there are five serious contenders to ultimately come away with Simmons, one stands above the others: the Golden State Warriors.
So why hasn’t a trade occurred yet?
As it turns out, one major red flag is preventing the Warriors from pulling the trigger.
Zach Lowe and Stephen A. Smith talking about a potential Ben Simmons to the Warriors trade pic.twitter.com/MVPZtFnePx
— Real Hooper Pilled Trill (@TrillBroDude) August 10, 2021
“I think the Warriors internally are divided on the potential fit of Simmons with Draymond Green,” Zach Lowe said Tuesday on the “Lowe Post” podcast.
“I’ve been told they are,” ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith replied. “They are divided.”
Lowe acknowledged that the trepidation wasn’t without merit.
“And I get why, right,” he said. “Draymond doesn’t really shoot anymore. Ben doesn’t shoot—I mean, Ben doesn’t even dunk in Game 7 when he’s got an open dunk—but I wonder if we’re all over-fretting a little bit, because if you put those two with Steph [Curry], Klay [Thompson] and just, like, pick a shooter, so you’re playing Draymond at the five and Simmons at the (four), the level of playmaking and shooting is…
“I don’t think the Warriors will do it, I don’t quite know how I feel about it, but I’m a little more positive about it than most people I’ve talked to I think.”
Simmons played reasonably well for most of last year and ended up making his first All-Star appearance in the process. There was even talk of him possibly winning Defensive Player of the Year.
Unfortunately, he completely collapsed in the second round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 9.9 points on 6.4 field-goal attempts per outing. Over the Sixers’ last three playoff games he took a grand total of 14 shots. This led to Joel Embiid publicly calling him out and the Sixers front office privately slandering him.
Yikes. https://t.co/r0HoFoJE9h
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 10, 2021
In some ways, the Warriors make sense as a stop for Simmons. There is enough shooting there to compensate for his weakness in that specific area. Of course, Green is essentially in the same boat – and having two non-threats on offense might be too much for Golden State to overcome.
Either way, this is an interesting situation to keep an eye on. If the Warriors don’t end up making a move for Simmons, it’s hard to see someone else putting together a better package before the start of next season.
Related: Raiders Preparing To Trade Marcus Mariota?
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
