Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Now in his fourth full season in the NBA, Ben Simmons is one of the more dominant two-way players in the entire league and has received the attention he deserves. Through three seasons, Simmons has been named a NBA All-Star twice, was the 2017-18 Rookie of the Year, made the 2019-20 All-NBA Third-Team and was named to the 2019-20 All-Defensive First-Team.
He is a legit triple-double threat every time he steps on the court and given his ball-handling skills at 7-feet tall, Ben Simmons is a complete mismatch for every other team in the league. If you put a guard on him, he will post them up and score over them in the paint, but if you put a big man on him, Simmons has the ability to blow past him to the rim.
With Giannis Anteokounmpo, the Bucks would not only have two of the best defensive players in the league, but two guys that are virtually impossible to stop. There are very few guys in the league that you can point to and deem them “unguardable” and both Ben Simmons and Giannis Antetokounmpo are those types of players.
You can only hope to contain players like them because no matter how they are defended, they will find ways to not only score, but make plays for their teammates. Last season, Ben Simmons and Giannis Antetokounmpo had six and four triple-doubles respectively, ranking them 5th and 6th in the league last year.
These two guys do it all on the court and together, they would be one of the most dominant duos in NBA history. Ben Simmons is under contract through the 2024-25 NBA season, meaning the only way the Bucks could possibly acquire him is via a trade with Philadelphia. As a result, they would likely have to give up both Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday in the process.
Just last week, the 76ers were on the phone up until the last minute with the Houston Rockets about trading for James Harden and they were ready to trade Ben Simmons. As a result, his future with the 76ers could be up-in-the-air, giving the Bucks a prime opportunity to go out and trade for him.
