Top Three Destinations for Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons confirmed last night that he isn’t willing to come back to the Philadelphia 76ers and won’t report to the training camp. His decision is a puts an and to all the speculations about a possibility for his stay in Philly.

The former No.1 pick already asked for a trade this summer, and his request was granted. However, the 76ers didn’t receive any suitable offers from other teams, and the Australian is still officially a member of the franchise from Pennsylvania.

It seems that his massive contract presents a problem for all the teams who would even want to land him. Simmons is about to earn $147 million in the next four years, $33 million this year.

ESPN Sources: Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons will not report for opening of training camp next week and intends to never play another game for the franchise. Simmons hasn’t spoken to team since a late August meeting when he communicated this message to Sixers officials.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 21, 2021

Head coach Doc Rivers stated that he wants Simmons to stay, but the 25-year old apparently isn’t willing to play for the Sixers anymore.

The question now is where he could land? There are several possible fits for him, and we are going to mention three.

Golden State Warriors

The biggest win-win situation would be seeing Simmons in Golden State Warriors. The Dub Nation has the best shooting team in the league, and they wouldn’t need to rely upon his shooting nor scoring. On the other side, his incredible vision and fast pace would blend in with GSW’s style of play perfectly.

On top of that, Simmons is one of the best defenders in the league. His presence on the floor would be a big boost for Steve Kerr, who would also use Simmons to control the glass on both ends and disperse the ball in the offense. Practically all of his weaknesses would be covered up in the Warriors.

It is also important here that GSW has enough assets to execute a trade, and they are by far in the best position to land Simmons.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves have been in the combination for a long time, but it seems that there is a rift between the two teams because of a trade package. Apparently, the Sixers want too much. According to the sources from Minneapolis, the arrangement might include all the players except for Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, and if hypothetically, the trade goes through, it would be a pleasure to see these two guys with Simmons.

First of all, that would be one very young and potent core, and with lots of role players surrounding them, the Wolves could attack the playoffs even in their first year.

Simmons’ defense and vision, would be perfectly complementary with Edwards attacking style of play, and these two would make a nice triangle in the attack along with KAT.

Sacramento Kings

Owners made a massive mistake by letting go of Vlade Divac, who formed this team, yet, the Serb did the same thing by firing the head coach Dave Joerger, who is now in Philly. With him, in charge, we are more than sure that the Kings would already be a playoff team.

Now, they have to fix all these mistakes and make some painful cuts in order to make progress. One of them would include Tyrese Haliburton and a few other prospects, such as Buddy Hield, in the trade offer for Simmons, who would then be paired with De’Aaron Fox.

The NBA insiders have been speculating with this move for quite a while, suggesting that the Kings showed a big interest in Simmons. With him, Fox would get an equally energetic and athletic partner who would significantly improve Sacramento’s defense.