3 off-the-wall Ben Simmons trade ideas you haven’t heard before

This would almost certainly be the preferred scenario for Ben Simmons — getting him to a big-market California coast team that’s close to championship contention. For the Clippers, they’re giving up some depth and an intriguing young piece in Keon Johnson but Simmons is also a very interesting upgrade whose non-shooting could be mitigated at least in part by the different ways in which Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are comfortable working on and off the ball. They’d also be an unbelievable combination on defense. They also get Niang, who is a bit positionally redundant, but at least gives them another perimeter shooter to plug in the lineup.

For the 76ers, this may be a bit of a stretch. Kennard and Bledsoe are far from All-Stars and Bledsoe, in particular, has had problems maintaining effectiveness in the playoffs. But he can plug-and-play at point guard in the regular season and help keep them towards the top of the Eastern Conference. Kennard is also really useful as a shooter off movement and as a secondary creator, something the 76ers don’t get from Seth Curry or Danny Green. Here the 76ers also keep Tyrese Maxey and pick up a first-round pick in the distant future. Lastly, they get to take a flyer on Keon Johnson, an uber-athletic and high-motor perimeter defender who has some offensive upside and was ranked as a lottery prospect on lots of big boards heading into last year’s draft.