Cavs: Pros, cons of potentially trading for Ben Simmons

The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a pivotal point in their rebuild. Over the last three seasons, they have slowly but surely begun to develop one of the youngest rosters in the league into a promising young core.

Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen have all taken turns impressing coaches and fans alike with their development both on and off the court during this now-past season. With that being said, It could be time for the Cavs to consolidate some of that young talent into a trade package for one of the games more established stars: Ben Simmons.

The case for the Cavs to potentially acquire Simmons

While Sexton is arguably Cleveland’s best current player, he isn’t yet in the tier of Simmons. Three years into said rebuild, Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and co. may be at least entertaining the idea of expediting the rebuild by acquiring a ready made star.

And along those lines, the Cavs could reportedly be open to trading their #3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, seemingly as part of a potential package for an established player/star to help jumpstart their rebuild.

As far as the Simmons’ possibility, the LSU product could provide the Cavs with a major boost to playmaking (7.7 assists per game for his career) size (listed at 6-foot-11) and for all of his offensive woes, Simmons is a heck of a defender. He finished the season as a finalist for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award en route to being named to the All-Defensive team for the second time.

According to KJG’s Dan Gilinsky, a trade package consisting of Kevin Love (salary matching), Sexton or Garland, and the #3 pick in this year’s draft could get the conversation started. This is the type of deal that would theoretically help both squads as it allows for fresh starts for all players involved while also providing the Cavs with an established star to build around.

The timing of such a deal could also be ideal for Cleveland due to Simmons’ stock feasibly plummeting after yet another 76ers playoff collapse in which Simmons shot a career-low 34.2 percent from the free throw line. That was good for dead last in postseason history among players with at least 67 attempts, as of following Philly’s Game 5 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that discussions about Simmons’ future have begun involving his agent, Rich Paul, and the Sixers.

"Paul engaged the Sixers on whether it makes sense to work together to find a trade before the start of next season, but no request was made and the sides are expected to continue talking ahead of the July 29 NBA draft and August free agency, sources said. The 76ers are committed to keeping Simmons as a central piece of their franchise, sources said.”"

Philadelphia is still seemingly wanting to work with Simmons for him to improve his shooting, per Wojnarowski’s report, but the trade rumors/speculation won’t be going away. Suffice it to say that Cleveland could make an offer for Simmons if he becomes available.

What’s the case against trying to do so, though?