Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G/F Ben Simmons
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: G D’Angelo Russell, F Jaden McDaniels, MIN 2022 1st Round Pick (Unprotected), MIN 2023 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable), MIN 2024 1st Round Pick (Top-5 Protected)
Minnesota needs to make a big move and it seems like ownership has made that apparent by removing Gersson Rosas from the team. Rosas was hired as the Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations in May 2019, but on Wednesday afternoon, he was relieved of his duties.
Upon removing Rosas from his position, Timberwolves owner Glenn Taylor released a statement saying, “Today, the Minnesota Timberwolves parted ways with President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of.”
This is a pretty dry statement and quite honestly, there is not much else Taylor can really say at this point, but the Timberwolves have been adamant over the last month or so about trading for Ben Simmons and including the likes of D’Angelo Russell in a potential deal. Could this be the reason Gersson Rosas was fired from the team?
It would definitely make a lot of sense if Rosas was fired because he was not willing to include Russell in a trade offer for Ben Simmons, as D’Angelo Russell was his biggest acquisition since stepping in his basketball operations role with the team.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Everything To Know About Latest Ben Simmons NBA Trade Rumors
Now, with VP of President Basketball Operations, Sachin Gupta taking over Rosas’ role, we could very well see Minnesota go “all-in” on pursuing Ben Simmons.
The money works in their favor to send out D’Angelo Russell while bringing in Ben Simmons and they would have to throw in a young talent like Jaden McDaniels for some more salary and skill value. When you look at this trade package as a whole, it is definitely not mind-blowing in terms of talent going to Philadelphia to help them pursue a championship, but there are not many better deals out there.
If the 76ers are going to move Ben Simmons before the start of the season, it seems like Minnesota is the only place that makes sense in terms of the value going back to Philadelphia.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Everything To Know About Latest Ben Simmons NBA Trade Rumors
No other team has been willing to offer up an All-Star-level talent for Simmons and Russell was an All-Star back in 2018-19, so they would be getting a key talent who can take over the point guard position in Philly and be a better scorer than Ben Simmons was.
This is definitely the trade package that the Timberwolves would like to send out for Ben Simmons, so let’s take a look at if this trade not only makes sense for them but the 76ers as well.
