Ben Simmons – Philadelphia 76ers
All trade discussions in the NBA right now somehow find their way back to Ben Simmons and if there was ever a time for the Cavaliers to pull-the-trigger on a Simmons deal, now would be the time.
Losing both Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio for the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have their backs up against the wall and do not really have many in-house options for replacing this lost value. Garland, Mobley, Allen and Markkanen will do the best they can, but this team is still lacking starpower to be a real threat come playoff time.
Even with Ben Simmons, this team may not be much of a playoff threat, but he is someone that they were interested in prior to Collin Sexton getting hurt.
How they would pull off this deal with the 76ers remains very unclear and it would almost definitely have to be a multi-team, blockbuster type of deal, but maybe the Cavaliers can finally part ways with Kevin Love to acquire Ben Simmons.
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Love has one more year left on his contract after this season and is owed $60.2M in total through next year, but he has been playing very well as of late with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the league’s health and safety protocols.
Since the start of December, Love is averaging 16.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and is shooting 48.4% from the floor, 50% from three-point range. Over his last six games, the former All-Star has scored over 20 points in three games and is shooting 24-48 (50%) from deep.
Ben Simmons could fill many different needs for the Cavaliers and most importantly, he would help create one of the most intriguing lineups in the entire NBA. Their starting-five would be Simmons, Garland, Markkanen, Mobley and Allen, giving the Cavs four near 7-footers in one rotation.
This could absolutely be enough for the Cavaliers to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference and possibly continue building themselves into a real threat in the East. There is no better time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to pursue a trade for Ben Simmons than right now.
