What this trade means for Philadelphia 76ers & Minnesota Timberwolves
The 76ers are heading downwards right now as a franchise and their championship window is getting smaller and smaller each day. Even with Ben Simmons, this team may still be struggling, but they are not helping themselves having $33M missing in action.
The only way for this team to better themselves this season is to trade Ben Simmons and while they absolutely should want to add another All-Star to their roster in return, who can they hypothetically pursue?
Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and Jaylen Brown are not going to be going anywhere and it is hard to believe that guys like Pascal Siakam, Brandon Ingram and/or De’Aaron Fox will be on the move. So where does this leave the Philadelphia 76ers in their search to trade Ben Simmons?
Caris LeVert and Harrison Barnes are not All-Stars and probably never will be over the course of their careers, but this does not mean that they cannot be impactful players on a championship-level roster.
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In fact, Barnes was instrumental to the Golden State Warriors’ success during their title run during the 2014-15 season and LeVert played a huge role in the 2019-20 Brooklyn Nets making the playoffs.
Both wings are terrific players in their own right, can make a difference on both ends of the floor and can both take scoring pressure off of Joel Embiid, which is why this really is not that bad of a trade for the 76ers in the grand scheme of things, especially if they want to try and win a championship immediately.
As for Minnesota, adding Ben Simmons would be a fantastic move for them. We have seen the Minnesota Timberwolves rebuild and re-tool time-and-time again, but they finally have a strong looking core. It is definitely not done being constructed, but Russell, Towns and Edwards are definitely a worthy playoff trio in this league.
By adding Simmons to the mix, the Timberwolves, who rank 11th in the league in defensive rating, become a Top-5 defensive team in the league and they finally have someone who can be a primary facilitator both in transition and in half-court sets.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Why Cavaliers Should Push for Ben Simmons Trade
Ben Simmons would not have to be a scorer in Minnesota given all the talent they have and with his abilities to defend literally any position, it would be extremely hard to attack a defensive lineup of Ben Simmons, Patrick Beverley, Karl-Anthony Towns and maybe even Jaden McDaniels.
This trade gives the Minnesota Timberwolves exactly what they are needing to add to their roster in order to become a playoff threat and while it costs them some young assets and draft picks, Simmons is definitely worth this price.
