Does this trade make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers?
If the 76ers are to trade Ben Simmons, they will take a look at all of their options and see what kind of talents they can get in return for him, but given that they are competing for a championship now, they are going to want the best return that can help them win immediately.
This trade with the Timberwolves definitely does that, which is why this is a trade proposal that the Philadelphia 76ers would definitely consider. D’Angelo Russell is a better offensive talent than Ben Simmons is, but he is a very isolation-heavy type of guard.
He is not the type of guy to play off-the-ball and be a catch-and-shoot threat, as he mainly does most of his work picking apart his defender in one-on-one sets on the perimeter. With Joel Embiid being this team’s main offensive weapon, D’Angelo Russell may kind of be reverted to the same kind of role Simmons was in as an off-the-ball factor.
D’Angelo Russell is definitely a talented player, but Philadelphia may not be the right fit for him. Getting Josh Okogie is not a bad addition for the Sixers, but again, looking at this trade as a whole, do they really better themselves in terms of being a true title contender?
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Swapping Simmons for Russell is definitely something that could be beneficial for the 76ers, but at the same time, if they are not willing to adjust their style of play with this new addition and they continue to play primarily through Joel Embiid, which they should, then this trade does not really make them better.
If anything, it could make them worse since they would lose Simmons being a great defender. Trading Ben Simmons is going to be a talking point all season long for the 76ers and if they do decide to trade him, they are going to need to add a talented player that can come in right away and play off of both Embiid and Harris to help elevate this team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
