The Brooklyn Nets have been involved in many trade rumors recently, with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant apparently living their last moments with the franchise. A lot of reports have suggested where these two stars can go play next. With teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and others being linked with the duo, other franchises are trying to cash in on this situation and convince the Nets to make another deal.
They also have a big star in Ben Simmons, although he didn’t play a single game last season. Simmons is coming back from a back injury and has struggled with mental health, which makes things hard for him.
Still, it looks like some teams around the league could use his services to compete for the title next year. That’s why Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report suggests a risky trade between the Atlanta Hawks and Nets, in which the Hawks would send John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic to Brooklyn in exchange for Simmons.
The Hawks were awful defensively last season, ranking 26th overall with a 113.7 rating. The trade for Dejounte Murray helped address the need for an elite backcourt defender and additional ball-handler, but Atlanta should still be looking for more buy-low defensive help to put around Trae Young.
Simmons is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward player due to his back issues and sour relationship with his former Philadelphia 76ers team. However, he is still a three-time All-Star and second-place finisher in Defensive Player of the Year voting who just turned 26.
Building a defense around Young that features Simmons, Murray, De’Andre Hunter, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu would suddenly make the Hawks one of the best in the NBA, given the amount of size, length and versatility next to the superstar point guard.
For a Nets team that’s extremely thin up front, adding a 24-year-old Collins with four years left on his contract would be a terrific complement to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, or whatever is left of this Brooklyn roster when the summer’s over. Bogdanovic (15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists) can thrive as a starter or a sixth man.
This is an interesting idea that could help both teams in different areas of their game. While the Hawks would improve their defense with Simmons, creating a terrific trio with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, the Nets would add some pieces that would take their offense to the next level. Still, this is only an idea, and it remains to be seen if any of these teams are still interested in making moves this summer.
