The Ben Simmons saga has come alive once again with the Boston Celtics expressing interest in the Philadelphia 76ers guard. As Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has emphasized at the very beginning, he won't give up Simmons for chump change. He wants an All-Star caliber player in exchange for the playmaker. This is where Jaylen Brown enters.
Here are three reasons why the Celtics should pull the trigger on the possible blockbuster trade.
3. Celtics will be the ultimate defensive team with Simmons
A good reason why Simmons is getting lambasted for his lack of a jump shot is simply that he's one heck of a basketball talent. Fans and critics do not want his abilities to go to waste. Simmons is a beast of a defender, having been selected into the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice. Last year, he placed second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Two seasons ago, Simmons finished fourth.
As of writing, the Celtics are ranked the 12th best defensive team in the NBA with a 106.3 rating. This is good but when you have defensive stalwarts like Marcus Smart and Al Horford in the fold, you can say that the team may be underperforming. And if the Celtics are serious about winning, then they need to level up on the defensive end. Simmons could be that guy who will propel the Celtics defense to where it should be.
2. Ben Simmons may cure Jayson Tatum's struggles
Safe to say that the 2021-22 NBA season isn't Tatum's best year. While he's averaging 23.6 points per game, he's shooting a horrendous 39.5 percent from the field. There have been nights where he shot around 20 percent from the floor. To be fair, Tatum's playing style—which consists of perimeter shots and three-point attempts—does gravitate to lower shooting percentages. But if the struggles have been going for an extended period, then perhaps something needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
At this point, Simmons curing Tatum's struggles is still a matter of conjecture. Simmons has yet to be paired with an All-Star swingman in his NBA career. But what we do know about Simmons is that he's a great playmaker and a great slasher. At least on paper, Simmons' qualities seem the perfect fit for Tatum's offensive acumen.
1. The Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum duo isn't working
The Celtics front office was definitely right in the reading of Brown and Tatum, who were picked third overall in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Draft, respectively. The two young guns do have it in them to play like All-Stars. The tandem, especially two or three years ago, was working like a well-oiled machine. A probable reason for this is that Brown and Tatum were still finding their identity as players. As such, they weren't the focal point of the Celtics offense. They weren't All-Stars but were superstars in their roles.
However, as they developed their individual games, it seems like Brown and Tatum became mirrors of one another. This is good. But not the best situation especially when they're on the same team. Players, especially All-Stars in one squad, need to complement one another. As such, a tweak is in order which may turn out to be good for all parties concerned. Brown, if he does go to the Sixers, will have tons of opportunities to develop with Joel Embiid. The Celtics, for their part, can tailor their system specifically to Tatum alone.
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