At this point, it can be said with a comfortable degree of certainty that Ben Simmons’ days with the 76ers are numbered.
After another season ended in disaster, the tension between the Sixers and their star has never been higher. In fact, Simmons himself has gone out of his way to illustrate his desire to leave.
Source: Ben Simmons has cut off communication with basically everyone in the Sixers organization. Everything is going thru his agent, Rich Paul. Ben is open to going to the GSWs though he doesn’t have much leverage in the situation.
Source: Ben Simmons has cut off communication with basically everyone in the Sixers organization. Everything is going thru his agent, Rich Paul. Ben is open to going to the GSWs though he doesn’t have much leverage in the situation.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) August 5, 2021
So, with a strong belief that Ben will be moved at some time in the near future, the focus has shifted to which teams might actually have a shot at getting him.
On that front, the Warriors remain a team to watch for.
With a lot of young assets and picks, Golden State has enough resources to make a pretty solid offer. Just because they can, however, does not mean they should.
And, as pointed out by ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Stephen A. Smith, there are concerns within the Warriors front-office about Simmons’ potential fit with Draymond Green.
“I think the Warriors internally are divided on the potential fit of Simmons with Draymond Green,” Lowe said Tuesday on the “Lowe Post” podcast. “Do you agree?”
“I’ve been told they are,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith responded. “They are divided.”
Zach Lowe and Stephen A. Smith talking about a potential Ben Simmons to the Warriors trade pic.twitter.com/MVPZtFnePx
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The fact is, Draymond and Ben have a very similar playstyle. As defensive-minded forwards who specialize in playmaking over scoring, they essentially do the same thing — of course, with varying degrees of success.
Nonetheless, Green has been a staple of the Warriors franchise for years. He was there from the very beginning and was key in their success during the height of their run.
By all accounts, it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere. He’s too important.
As for Simmons, uniting him with a guy like Dray is a questionable move, and it’s understandable why the Warriors brass would be so split on bringing him in.
Ultimately, though, we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
