Does this trade make sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Acquiring Ben Simmons would be a great move for the Minnesota Timberwolves not only because of what he can do defensively, but because he is only 24-years-old and turning 25 in July. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 and has had plenty of time to develop over the years, but he is still young and can still be worked on in terms of improving offensively.
Over the years, it seems like the Philadelphia 76ers have almost given up on letting Simmons play freely on offense and they basically have kept him in a “box” in terms of what he is and is not allowed to do. Obviously with a guy like Joel Embiid, you want Simmons to defer the ball to him, but it almost seems like Philadelphia does not want him doing anything other than passing and facilitating.
All of that would change in Minnesota and he would have free reign in terms of not only running this offense, but playing off of Towns and Edwards as well. Both of those two guys are high-level talents on the offensive-end of the floor and would draw all of the attention which could finally allow Simmons to expand his game offensively and be a factor driving into the paint.
He is a terrific ball-handler and given his size, is virtually unguardable for his position, so there is no reason why Ben Simmons cannot develop further into a downhill driving threat offensively. The 76ers may have been passive in their approach to his game offensively, but in Minnesota, they would absolutely love to have Simmons be a guy that puts his head down and gets to the basket to score.
READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Timberwolves ‘badly’ want to trade for 76ers star Ben Simmons
Swapping D-Lo for Simmons is an upgrade for the Timberwolves and they really do not lose much else in this trade. Josh Okogie is nothing more than a rotational guy that is solid defensively and these two first-round picks do not hold a tremendous amount of value.
Losing a first-round pick next year definitely could hurt the Timberwolves if they struggle once again, but in the end, they are not going to find a better talent than Simmons with either of these picks. This team needs to win games now and acquiring Ben Simmons gives them the best avenue to succeed.
