Does this trade make sense for both the Trail Blazers and 76ers?
Both the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, the two teams who made the NBA Finals this year, were two of the better defensive teams in the league this season and them making The Finals is not a coincidence.
Adding Ben Simmonsmakes sense for Portland only because of how good he can still be and because of how good he is defensively.. While he is definitely a “project” since he is not much of a contributor on offense, with time, Simmons can easily reach his full potential as a two-way star in this league.
The 76ers just do not have time to wait around for Simmons to potentially become this two-way star, which is why they need to make the move to trade him now in this deal with Portland. Adding CJ McCollum would give the Sixers all of the firepower they need offensively, which is why this trade makes sense for them as well.
Philly is in a position to contend for championships now and they are not going to do so with a passive, soft “guard” like Ben Simmons, at least how he is right now. They do not have time to sit around and wait for him to develop, which is why trading him for an established ball-handler and scorer like CJ McCollum makes sense.
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The 76ers are interested in Damian Lillard as well, but getting McCollum is just as good for them in terms of adding another elite-level scorer and they can do so at a much lower price, as Hughes mentions in his piece. There really is no reason for the 76ers not to like this trade, which is why they should trade Ben Simmons.
While the 76ers would probably want to get the most out of a player like Ben Simmons, trading him straight up for CJ McCollum brings a lot of benefits to this team, too many in my opinion for Philadelphia to turn down. They are in a “win-now” position and they will not do so with Simmons as their point guard moving forward.
This swap between Portland and Philadelphia may make more sense the more and more you look to it, which is why both teams would definitely benefit from this trade, but in different ways.
