Can the Timberwolves make a trade with the 76ers work?
The Minnesota Timberwolves need 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 he was relieved of his duties in September
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.
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.
When you look at a trade package of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jaden McDaniels, as well as some draft picks, for Ben Simmons, the first thing that comes to mind is that the 76ers would be getting a lot of depth in return. In the postseason last year, the Sixers depth was exposed and they really did not have many reliable options to turn to for production.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 3 Players Who Could Be Traded After Ben Simmons Situation Is Settled
Outside of Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid, they did not really have many options, which is why Russell, Beasley, and McDaniels could all play valuable roles for the 76ers this season.
However, this is not a move that you look at and think the 76ers really got better. Moving Ben Simmons to Minnesota in this trade makes the Sixers worse defensively and they would still have some question marks about the players they would get in return given Russell’s injury history and Beasley’s ineffectiveness during his career outside of Minnesota.
In terms of teams interested in Simmons, the Timberwolves can definitely make a case for having one of the better potential trade packages to offer up, but at the same time, this may not be a move that the 76ers would view as making them better championship contenders.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 3 Players Who Could Be Traded After Ben Simmons Situation Is Settled
Philadelphia should not be willing to give up Ben Simmons for nothing and quite honestly, that may be what they are doing in this trade.
Remaining a championship contender is the main goal for the 76ers right now and it is hard to say whether or not a trio of D’Angelo Russell, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid is better than their current trio of Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid. If Simmons continues to hold out though, the 76ers may not have a choice other than to trade him for any value they can get right now.
