Ben Simmons, Golden State Warriors (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors come into the NBA offseason with a collection of assets more typical of a rebuilding team than a contending one. They have two lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft in addition to last year’s second overall pick (James Wiseman) and a young guard who would go in the lottery of a 2019 NBA re-draft (Jordan Poole).
This is not a team keen on rebuilding, especially not after two straight years missing the postseason. With Klay Thompson set to return after missing more than two years due to injury, the Warriors want to make another run at a title around Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
The Golden State Warriors could make a buy-low move on Ben Simmons. Here are three reasons that they shouldn’t trade for the disgruntled 76er.
If a trade materializes for another star player to add to that group, the Warriors will absolutely make their offer. The question is whether they should be looking at the next tier, at solid players who are not stars. After the Philadelphia 76ers flamed out of the postseason in large part due to the failures of Ben Simmons, the Australian point forward finds himself the subject of numerous trade rumors.
Should the Warriors take a look at trading for Ben Simmons?
What would a trade look like?
Recently we highlighted five teams that could make a play for Ben Simmons and detailed what a trade package could look like. For the Warriors, any package would have to be centered around Andrew Wiggins, and while he has improved his value over the past year in Golden State, he is still a less valuable asset than Simmons by himself. In that scenario, the Warriors sent Wiggins, Nico Mannion and their own 2021 first-round pick (14th) for Simmons.
A year ago, that trade looks like a no-brainer move for the Warriors and an instant rejection for the 76ers. Then Simmons quaked on the NBA’s biggest stage, yonking free throws and passing the ball at every opportunity to avoid shooting. His value has plummeted. The 76ers would clearly still be hoping for a better trade package, but let’s assume for the moment that they don’t have one.
Should the Warriors trade the above package for Ben Simmons? How would he fit with their current core, and would he help them towards their goal of winning a championship? It’s absolutely possible that he could. He was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, and adding Simmons would give the Warriors two of the three finalists for the award. That combination would be the backbone of a truly terrifying defense.
Yet there are other glaring reasons why it would not work out, especially on the offensive end. Therefore even if a trade was available to them without giving up a prime asset the Warriors need to walk away. Here are three reasons why they shouldn’t trade for Ben Simmons.
Warriors will absolutely make their offer. The question is whether they should be looking at the next tier, at solid players who are not stars. After the Philadelphia 76ers flamed out of the postseason in large part due to the failures of <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/simmobe01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Ben Simmons</a>, the Australian point forward finds himself the subject of numerous trade rumors.</p>
<p>Should the Warriors take a look at trading for Ben Simmons?</p>
<h2>What would a trade look like?</h2>
<p>Recently we highlighted <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/24/philadelphia-76ers-trade-ben-simmons/">five teams that could make a play for Ben Simmons</a> and detailed what a trade package could look like. For the Warriors, any package would have to be centered around Andrew Wiggins, and while he has improved his value over the past year in Golden State, he is still a less valuable asset than Simmons by himself. In that scenario, the Warriors sent Wiggins, Nico Mannion and their own 2021 first-round pick (14th) for Simmons.</p>
<p>A year ago, that trade looks like a no-brainer move for the Warriors and an instant rejection for the 76ers. Then Simmons quaked on the NBA’s biggest stage, yonking free throws and passing the ball at every opportunity to avoid shooting. His value has plummeted. The 76ers would clearly still be hoping for a better trade package, but let’s assume for the moment that they don’t have one.</p>
<p>Should the Warriors trade the above package for Ben Simmons? How would he fit with their current core, and would he help them towards their goal of winning a championship? It’s absolutely possible that he could. He was the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, and adding Simmons would give the Warriors two of the three finalists for the award. That combination would be the backbone of a truly terrifying defense.</p>
<p>Yet there are other glaring reasons why it would not work out, especially on the offensive end. Therefore even if a trade was available to them without giving up a prime asset the Warriors need to walk away. Here are three reasons why they <em>shouldn’t</em> trade for Ben Simmons.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Lack of spacing </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-431431" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1316561286.jpeg" alt="Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1316561286.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1316561286-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Ben Simmons, Golden State Warriors Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Why the Golden State Warriors shouldn’t trade for Ben Simmons: Lack of spacing in their best 5</h2>
<p>The Philadelphia 76ers tried to build a championship contender around a center in Joel Embiid and a ball-handling power forward who doesn’t shoot in Ben Simmons. Not simply a bad shooter from outside, a la Giannis Antetokounmpo or Draymond Green, Simmons does not even attempt outside shots. For the entire 2020-21 season, including playoffs, he attempted just 38 shots outside of the paint, and just 10 outside of floater range. He took 563 at or around the rim.</p>
<p>For Simmons to thrive, he needs to be deployed on a team that can completely space the floor around him. Even with Embiid hitting 37.7 percent of his 3-pointers, his favorite spot to set up shop was on the block. That instantly erased the space Simmons needed to attack the paint and set up shooters. Put even one more middling shooter on the court — Matisse Thybulle or Tyrese Maxey, for example — and suddenly the Philadelphia offense was reduced to Embiid taking a contested shot.</p>
<p>The question for the Golden State Warriors is thus whether they think they can properly deploy Simmons on offense, or if he will strangle their spacing just as he did Philadelphia’s. Unfortunately, the Warriors already deploy a spacing-challenged point forward in Draymond Green. While Green is both historically and currently a more willing shooter than Simmons, he only hit 27 percent of his 3-pointers this past season.</p>
<p>Trading for Simmons would mean more than simply acquiring a selectively acquired bench piece; Simmons is both too good and too expensive for that. Yet closing a game with both Green and Simmons chokes the court. Guarding actions with Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson would be a lot easier for defenders comfortable sagging off Green or Simmons.</p>
<p>The Warriors have helped to mitigate that problem by putting the ball in Green’s hands to run the offense. That doesn’t help lineups with both Green and Simmons since only one can handle the ball. It also would mean that the Warriors would have to completely overhaul their bench to focus exclusively on shooting to try and maximize the fit around Simmons. When shooting is the most coveted skill in the game, that becomes that much harder to do.</p>
<p>The Warriors were already a top-five defense last season but struggled at times on offense. That problem would only intensify in the clogged-paint environment that would exist with both Simmons and Green sharing the same frontcourt.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Losing Andrew Wiggins </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-426734" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2021%2F04%2F1309975167.jpeg" alt="Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/04/1309975167.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2021/04/1309975167-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Ben Simmons, Golden State Warriors Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Why they shouldn’t trade for Ben Simmons: Losing Andrew Wiggins</h2>
<p>To trade for Ben Simmons, the Golden State Warriors would have to trade Andrew Wiggins to match salaries. As a pure value play that would seem worth it, as Wiggins has been a disappointment since he was taken first overall and has largely been seen around the league as a major negative on his current contract.</p>
<p>Yet the Warriors also have to acknowledge they have no one to directly replace Wiggins if they do send him out. Defensively Simmons would step right into the role as wing stopper, and combined with a returning Klay Thompson be confident of defending on the wing.</p>
<p>Offensively the problem rears its head. Wiggins was the secondary shot creator alongside Stephen Curry last season, a role Ben Simmons would be hard-pressed to fill. When you add in that Wiggins has developed his outside shot to keep defenses honest, the comparison fractures even further. The former Minnesota Timberwolves wing hit 38 percent of his 3-pointers last season.</p>
<p>It’s possible the Warriors could look elsewhere to find Wiggins’ offensive replacement. Jordan Poole is growing as an offensive player and can create off-the-dribble while spacing the floor when he doesn’t have the ball. They could look to draft a player such as Franz Wagner or James Bouknight to juice the offense. A veteran such as Rudy Gay or Carmelo Anthony could be a cheap source of bench points.</p>
<p>If the Warriors do pull the trigger on such a trade, they have some options, but the reality is that they would lose something valuable that Wiggins provides. It’s not like Wiggins was a poor defender last year, rather showing he had a lot of undiscovered defense potential as a wing stopper and even on-ball shot blocker. The trade-off might not be worth it for the Warriors who have rehabilitated Wiggins into a very useful player.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Need 16-game players </a>
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<img class="wp-image-431432 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1126800589.jpeg" alt="Ben Simmons, Golden State Warriors" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1126800589.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1126800589-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Ben Simmons, Golden State Warriors Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</p>
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<h2>Why they shouldn’t trade for Ben Simmons: They need 16-game players</h2>
<p>Draymond Green is one of the league’s fiercest competitors, a perfect fit on a team competing for championships. As the Golden State Warriors have gone through a small valley after five years on the mountain of contending, Green has made known what kind of players he wants Bob Myers and the rest of the front office to put around him.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Larry Harris said Draymond Green's given the front office a piece of advice: "There are 82-game players, then there are 16-game players." Draymond's interested in the 16-game (playoff-type) players.</p>
<p>— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1009170931254624257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 19, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Green is absolutely right with his overly simplistic point: some players are talented and skilled enough to thrive in the regular season but struggle in the playoffs. With teams writing specific game plans to attack the weaknesses of the other team and eliminate their strengths, some players see a larger drop in effectiveness than others.</p>
<p>Ben Simmons absolutely fits into this category. While his accolades over the past few seasons might be slightly overrating him, he did play well enough to earn three All-Star berths and an All-NBA nod. He has been a deserving All-Defensive team member twice and led the league in steals-per-game in 2019-20.</p>
<p>Yet in the playoffs, his unique weaknesses are amplified. His lack of shooting means teams can completely ignore him off-ball, and he hasn’t proven capable of truly punishing them even with cuts and screens. His foul shooting is also terrible, and the Atlanta Hawks gleefully fouled him intentionally throughout this past postseason.</p>
<p>His fear of being fouled has led to increasing passivity on his end as well. His regular-season usage rate this past season was 20.2 percent; in the playoffs, it was just 16.5 percent. He even passes out of easy shots to avoid being fouled, as famously occurred late in Game 7 against the Hawks.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ben Simmons did not just pass this up… <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://t.co/4JyM7ZHNkJ">pic.twitter.com/4JyM7ZHNkJ
<p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1406798877722742787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>June 21, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/06/27/golden-state-warriors-ben-simmons/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Ben Simmons might be awesome in the regular season, but his flaws are highlighted in the postseason. The Golden State Warriors are planning to contend for a title next season, which means they need “16-game players” to carry them there. Many of the players on the roster are postseason unknowns; Simmons is not. We have enough evidence to know that he gets worse, functionally and mentally, on basketball’s biggest stage.</p>
<p>The Warriors should explore every trade option out there, and it makes good sense to buy low on talented players. They did that with Andrew Wiggins and it worked out very well. Yet at the end of the day, Simmons’ flaws are so pronounced, and his salary so large, that it doesn’t make sense for this team to trade for him. No matter the price tag, they should not trade for Ben Simmons.</p>
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