NBA rumors: 5 sensible Ben Simmons trades
By Alec Liebsch
Indiana Pacers
Speaking of those Pacers, they have their own soft spot for Simmons. According to Jason Dumas of Bleacher Report, they already offered Brogdon and the No. 13 overall pick for Simmons (the Sixers turned it down).
Like most of the teams on this list, it seems the Pacers don’t have the category of player the Sixers are looking for. Brogdon is an excellent fit with the Sixers, but he and Embiid might only suit up for 10 games next year given their injury history.
In a trade like this, Indiana might be able to kill two birds with one stone. They have their own frontcourt problem to work out, as Sabonis and Turner clearly aren’t the ideal 4-5 pairing. In addition, Simmons is a very clean theoretical fit with Turner, a 3-and-D big who has no problem spacing out in a drive-and-kick offense. Would a team give the Sixers what they want in exchange for Sabonis?
The Sabonis trade market hasn’t exactly warmed up yet, but one team that could definitely be in on him is the San Antonio Spurs. Passing bigs are right up their alley, and his salary is modest enough to where it can be reached somewhat easily. Unfortunately, the Spurs’ best trade assets aren’t the Sixers’ cup of tea, which means — you guessed it — another four-way trade is coming!
As long as the Oklahoma City Thunder come away with a pick or two (or five), they’re more than willing to hop in on a trade to make it work. This one will be tougher for them to come to grips with, but it may be necessary for the sake of their rebuild.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the same rookie scale as the aforementioned Collin Sexton; they’re both getting big paydays next summer. In SGA’s case, his team doesn’t look ready to contend anytime soon. OKC is positioned well to get right back into the thick of it, but how quickly can they put together a contender around their best player?
Furthermore, what is Gilgeous-Alexander’s ceiling? If he can’t be the best player on a championship contender, OKC will spend the next few years paying him and scrambling for a true No. 1. It’s not a crippling move to pay a great player what he’s worth. But it becomes a lot harder to add Batman when Robin is making a third of the cap.
If OKC can maximize his value before extending him, they have to at least consider it. There’s no sense paying him max money when you’re waiting on everyone else to develop.
Also: Oklahoma City Thunder get: Tyrese Maxey, Nos. 12 and 13 picks in 2021 draft (via SAS and IND, respectively).
Yes, it’s a mess. But does anyone really lose out here? The Pacers get to run a lineup of Brogdon, LeVert, Warren, Simmons and Turner next year. That’s frightening. The Sixers get the dame of the dance in SGA, a perimeter creator who can do just enough to relieve Embiid, but won’t overstep his boundaries either. They definitely pay for it by giving up Maxey too, but that’s the cost of doing business. They’re title contenders with this move, which makes it all worth it.
The Spurs get their big man of the future, a position they’ve prioritized in the past. They also get the Sixers’ pick and the right to swap with the Pacers next year to compensate for the loss of White, who basically had to go to Philly to make the money work. And the Thunder do what they do best, getting picks and long-term control over players. Maxey may be as good as SGA one day; for OKC, it’s worth it to find out, especially when you get two lottery picks on top of him.