While his camp has not formally requested a move, Ben Simmons’ names have popped up in trade rumors from the second that the Philadelphia 76ers crashed and burned out of the NBA playoffs in the conference semis. Simmons’ flaws as a player, namely as a shooter (both from the field and the free throw line), were on full display, and now, there are major questions about whether him staying in Philadelphia makes sense for either the team or the player.
According to a report from Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, one such team that intends on getting in on the Simmons sweepstakes is the Minnesota Timberwolves, which would look to add him to their young core of players. The problem: All three members of that core are untouchable, including the guy who might make the most sense for Philadelphia to target in a deal, D’Angelo Russell.
In Minnesota, while the Wolves would certainly need Simmons to shoot more than zero times in the fourth quarter, they wouldn’t need him to be a No. 2 option on offense. Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell (the Timberwolves view Russell as a part of the core and want to keep it that way, sources said) give coach Chris Finch three accomplished offensive players to get buckets down the stretch.
It would make sense that Towns and Edwards, both of whom are really good fits next to a player like Simmons, wouldn’t be on the move. But even if there are ways to make a deal without Russell make sense financially, he’s the kind of player — younger, under contract for two more years, someone who can score and create for others — that the Sixers really could use with Simmons heading elsewhere. Perhaps this would be easier if Minnesota had its first-round pick this year, but even then, Philly is a team that is presumably in win-now mode and not looking to build for the future.