All eyes will be on Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason. Fans and analysts will anticipate if the two parties will continue their partnership or end it via trade. After his poor showing in the playoffs, no one's riding the Simmons hype-train anymore. His top-notch playmaking skills have been vastly overshadowed by his lack of a reliable jump shot. Not to mention how he has seemingly lost all his confidence. This will, eventually, bring us to the Chicago Bulls.
This reality has driven Simmons' trade stock lower. As such, if the 76ers decide to place him on the trade block, then they have no choice but to grin and deal with the offers they will receive. No matter what era you're from, shooting (or even just the willingness to get buckets) is the most important thing that a player must possess. Ben Simmons doesn't have this ability. And the 76ers can't expect other teams to swap him for a franchise player.
This gives rebuilding teams like the Chicago Bulls an advantage. They have stars in Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, but it's still a matter of wait-and-see if the two can fully mesh together. As such, they can be a bit more adventurous in the offseason by proposing a trade to acquire Simmons.
76ers get: Lauri Markkanen, Coby White, 2022 2nd Round Pick
Bulls get: Ben Simmons
The 76ers will finally get a point guard who can shoot in Coby White. The seventh overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft is nowhere near elite (he shot 41.6 percent from the field last season) but as the adage goes, you always miss the shot that you don't take. White averages 13.1 field goal attempts per game while Simmons' attempts 10.1. In the playoffs, this dropped to 7.9 per game which is just unacceptable if you're considered the team's second star.
Obviously, the 76ers won't get elite playmaking abilities from White — at least not yet. Last season, he averaged 4.8 assists, which is an improvement from his 2.7 assists output in his rookie year. Besides, Doc Rivers is used to coaching traditional point guards like White. The man has worked with Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo — arguably two of the best guards of their generation. Rivers will have no problem unlocking White's potential.
Letting go of Simmons means that the 76ers will give up some size. This has been one of the key reasons for their success in the 2020-21 NBA season. As such, the inclusion of Luri Markkanen in this trade deal is a must. The 24-year-old Finnish sensation is one of the most solid stretch-big men in the league today. It was a pity seeing him relegated to a bench role last season.
With Markkanen, the 76ers will remain one of the tallest teams in the NBA. More importantly, Embiid will have an additional shooter on the floor. Markkanen has a smooth stroke from anywhere and he can also take it to the hoop. He's very patient with his drives — he knows when to attack or when to dish it off. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds per game. Yes, this was his career-low but again, this is not his fault. He was sent to the second unit for some odd reason. If you Finnish can easily bump it up to 7-10 boards per night.
As for the Bulls, the LaVine-Simmons backcourt has the makings of an epic duo. Head coach Billy Donovan is well-versed at coaching a speedy guard like Simmons from his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Russell Westbrook. Imagine the two running the fastbreak with Simmons throwing lobs to the high-flying LaVine.
LaVine is a great catch-and-shoot player, too. Simmons will have no problem spotting a wide-open LaVine from deep. Obviously, defenses will never sag off LaVine so we'll likely never see him wide-open. However, LaVine is also a natural slasher. Simmons is very comfortable in threading the needle with those nifty bounce passes.
Simmons also knows how to work with big men so there won't be a problem with Vucecic. Simmons is used to feeding the big man in the post as well as working on that two-man game. Not to mention that Vucevic is a better outside shooter than Embiid.
By this time, Simmons probably has had enough of the teasing and dissing. For those who have actually followed Simmons' career, the Australian actually has a jump shot. Back in college and even in recent pick-up games with fellow NBA players, Simmons has shown off that midrange in his arsenal. He even has a James Harden-like stepback maneuver.
At this point, Bulls fans can just cross their fingers with hopes that if Simmons goes to Chicago, that he'll also be armed with that jump shot. If not, it doesn't mean the end of the title hopes. Simmons is still young and can develop into a complete player. This could be just the beginning.
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