Does this trade make sense for the Boston Celtics?
Boston needs a point guard and Ben Simmons would be a huge upgrade at the position for the team. While he has his shortcomings, Boston has the roster construction to help overcome them.
While the price to acquire Simmons is steep, the Celtics keep both of their All-Star wings in this deal. If you are unwilling to include them, the cost of young players and draft capital goes up.
It is fair to question if Brad Stevens would even be allowed to unload this many draft picks in his first offseason as general manager, but ownership should make an exception for a player of Simmons’ caliber.
With Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the wings, the Celtics have more than enough scoring to compensate for Simmons’s lack of it. Without a power forward entrenched as the starter, the Celtics could also experiment with some point-forward looks for Simmons to get him off the perimeter and closer to the basket.
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Defensively, Simmons would provide everything that Marcus Smart did and more. While Smart is a tenacious defender on the perimeter and in some cases against big men, Simmons can guard any player on the court given his size and athleticism.
His playmaking is also a big step up from Smart, who is penciled in as the starting point guard right now.
Landing Simmons would give Boston a legitimate Big 3 to build around with all of them being 24-years of age or younger.
