Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G/F Ben Simmons, POR 2022 2nd Round Pick
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: G Damian Lillard, MIN 2026 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to PHI)
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: G Malik Beasley, G Tyrese Maxey, F Jaden McDaniels, MIN 2022 1st Round Pick (Unprotected), PHI 2022 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to POR), MIN 2022 2nd Round Pick, MIN 2023 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to POR), PHI 2023 1st Round Pick (Unprotected), MIN 2024 1st Round Pick (Unprotected)
Out of all the All-Star/All-NBA players involved in trade rumors, it seems very likely that Ben Simmons will be dealt sometime during the 2021-22 season. Philadelphia wants a big return for him and in this trade scenario, they would be getting exactly what they want with Damian Lillard.
Seeing as Lillard has not requested out and the Trail Blazers have declined trade offers by the Sixers for him, it is unlikely that a trade like this could happen, but this has not stopped the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers from talking about Ben Simmons trade proposals. Minnesota wants Simmons, but in order to get him, they will have to meet the 76ers price of another All-Star/All-NBA performer.
The Timberwolves do not have this kind of value to give up to Philadelphia right now, which is why a third team would have to be involved in a Ben Simmons trade in order to get the 76ers another All-Star talent.
Seeing as Pascal Siakam’s name has been brought up in NBA trade rumors, maybe the Raptors could be that third team involved in a Timberwolves-76ers trade for Ben Simmons, but Philly would immediately say yes to any deal that would get them Damian Lillard.
READ MORE: Predictions for Latest NBA Trade Rumors: Simmons, Siakam, Dragic, Lillard
This really is not a bad deal for the Trail Blazers either, especially since they would get a combined total of five first-round picks from both the 76ers and Timberwolves, as well as three key young talents in Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels, and Tyrese Maxey, all of which could be instrumental in this team’s rebuild.
In terms of their production on the court, Beasley, McDaniels, and Maxey all have a chance to be special players, which is why Portland could actually be interested in these three guys as they would trend towards a rebuilding without Lillard.
Philadelphia gets the one guy they want in Damian Lillard, Minnesota gets the one guy they want in Ben Simmons and Portland gets a plethora of future assets, which is why this trade could actually turn out to be a win-win-win across the board.
A fourth team could possibly get involved in this trade for Portland to dump some other contracts like Robert Covington, Jusef Nurkic, or maybe even C.J. McCollum if they were to enter a complete rebuild, that way they could get down to the allowed 15 players on their roster since they would be sending one player out and getting three in return.
READ MORE: Predictions for Latest NBA Trade Rumors: Simmons, Siakam, Dragic, Lillard
Overall though, the Timberwolves seem to want Ben Simmons and could be willing to move on from some of their young talents as long as they can keep Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns. This scenario is definitely a real trade proposal to consider, but in the end, everything would bank on the fact of Damian Lillard becoming available and requesting a trade out of Portland, which seems a little unlikely as of right now.
