Why Trading Ben Simmons to the Spurs Makes Sense

With the window closing on the Philadelphia 76ers to get the most they can in exchange for Ben Simmons, San Antonio appears to make the most sense for both the Sixers and Spurs

Up until this point, the Philadelphia 76ers have played things exactly right with the Ben Simmons situation. Daryl Morey, the President of Basketball Operations, who seems to be calling the shots over General Manager Elton Brand, has asked for a king’s ransom in exchange for the talented, but flawed, point guard. It hasn’t happened yet (and probably still won’t), but the idea of getting even slightly more than what Simmons is worth at this point is still in play.

When looking at Simmons, a lot of the negative press surrounding him is a case of recency bias. He couldn’t have looked worse in the team’s seven-game Eastern Conference semi-finals series against the Atlanta Hawks. A series he and his squad lost at home, to a Hawks team that many would argue overachieved this past year. Simmons appeared tentative to shoot throughout this matchup, especially considering he attempted just three shots TOTAL during the 4th quarter in the entire series. His hesitancy was highlighted especially in Game 7 . In the waning moments of this close game, he passed open on a wide open dunk and instead dished it off to Matisse Thybulle, a poor free throw shooter who only made one of two free throws.

After that pivotal loss, Simmons’ performance during the series drew the ire of both his coach Doc Rivers, and his teammate Joel Embiid, two main figures in the organization. When asked if Simmons could be the point guard of the future for them, Rivers simply said “I don’t know.” While Embiid noted the infamous play of Simmons passing open the wide open dunk as the key moment in the game.

One thing is clear – the Simmons era is over in Philly, especially now with news coming out of him cutting off contact entirely with the organization.

While the negative press is understandable, the strengths Simmons has are still very attractive. He’s a three-time NBA All-Star for a reason. He’s an ELITE defensive player, capable of guarding every position and every kind of skillset on the floor, his playmaking and creativity especially in transition is electric, and his IQ for when to look to shoot around the rim is impressive. Plus, he just turned 25 years old.

Several teams have been floated as potential suitors, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, and San Antonio Spurs.

So far, the Timberwolves appear to be the most interested in acquiring him. The Trail Blazers are a pipe dream at this point, with Sixers’ fans trying to talk themselves into actually believing Portland would want to trade Damian Lillard (despite how strained his relationship is with the Blazers) for Simmons. Sorry Sixers fans, it’s not happening unless you want to throw in Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, and three first round picks minimum at this point.

And some (if not most) are bound to call me biased for the theory I’m going to throw out there given I’m a die-hard Spurs fan. But out of sheer contempt for seeing me get my way and seeing a player like Simmons potentially blossom in the Spurs’ system, I dare you to name one other team that makes more sense for him to go to. Let’s be honest, the Timberwolves and Blazers don’t exactly have the most impressive track records as of late. And even though the Spurs have struggled recently (not all their fault, couldn’t have seen the blindsided move by Kawhi coming), they have a stellar reputation given what they’ve accomplished over the last 25 years.

San Antonio has quietly assembled a group of young players during the last few seasons. Talented, versatile, defensive-minded guards like DeJounte Murray, Derrick White, Devin Vassell, Lonnie Walker, and recent Gold medalist Keldon Johnson. Any package of those players, the most popular being Murray, Walker, and maybe a couple firsts, might be enticing enough to the Sixers given how low Simmons’ value is right now.

It’s the type of combination of players and picks the Sixers might have to ultimately accept even if they don’t want to. All signs to their sights being set on trading for Lillard, but given Dame’s recent comments that he’s not leaving for now, the probability of this taking place sooner rather than later is moving in the opposite direction.

Unlike Simmons, Murray has shown the willingness to at least take midrange jump shots and outside jumpers. It’s still something he’s looking to improve upon, but at least he’s working on it. His averages last season of 15.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 5.4 apg are certainly nothing to sneeze at. Especially when you consider he’s also a talented defensive player with deceptive length. Walker is more of an uncertainty. He’s shown flashes of being a really good player, but at this point the more realistic outlook is him being an energetic sixth man who can occasionally explode for 22-27 points here and there.

Granted I’m biased, but I think San Antonio would be the perfect landing spot for Simmons. If he truly wants to work on improving his shooting, starting somewhere fresh, and having his own team, the Spurs in their current state are tailor made to meet all of those requirements. One of the Spurs player development guys, Chip Engelland, is a world renowned shooting coach who helped reshape Tony Parker’s midrange shot, Tim Duncan’s free throw shot, and Kawhi Leonard’s jumper (which was super flat when he entered the league).

If Simmons is serious about revamping his game and changing the course of his career which is trending downwards as of now, to me San Antonio is his best choice. We don’t know how long Gregg Popovich will be there for, but it’s no secret that he’s a big fan of Simmons. Working with arguably the greatest coach in NBA history would be attractive to any NBA player. And acquiring Simmons might be enough to convince Pop to stay around for a few more years.

At some point, if the Sixers aren’t able to get a Lillard-esque haul for Simmons, they may need to bite the bullet an accept a less attractive offer such as this. Time is running out on them, and if they want to get some complimentary pieces for Embiid and Rivers in hopes of keeping their title window open, they must act soon before that window completely slams shut in their faces.