Ben Simmons to Cavs would be a fresh start for both

Ben Simmons has certainly been the center of the basketball universe over the past several months. Not bad for a 25-year-old basketball player to be the talk of every trade story from here to the Alaskan frontier. I mean if I were 25 years old and in Simmons’ position, I certainly wouldn’t be crying about the current set of circumstances. The three-time NBA All-Star could be back in Australia playing in the minor leagues of basketball.

Our Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of a number of teams rumored to have an interest in Simmons. I want Simmons to play on my coed intramural basketball team too but I don’t think that’s in the cards.

However, I do believe Simmons has gotten himself in a spot with his current team, the Philadelphia 76ers where there is no turning back, and per a report from Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Simmons “no longer wants to be a Sixer.” Also, when your head coach, Doc Rivers, basically throws his star player under the bus during the playoffs last season, well there is usually little reconciliation.

I get the whole narrative that Simmons basically has suffered from a lack of confidence more recently and the idea of a taking a jump shot, is the same feeling I have, when I try and drive on highways at rush hour. It’s scary.

Why is a star player like Simmons seemingly regressing with his play on the court? The numbers certainly do bare that out. That is a mystery. My hunch on the last two seasons is that Simmons and his coach have not seen eye to eye and that has played a big role in the diminishing results.

In the end though, you still have a very young player, who has skills that most 6-foot-11 ball players don’t have. His ball handling, finishing (typically) and defense are still all there. The shooting with confidence should come back. Maybe that trade offer with the Cavs wouldn’t be too bad of a deal. The Cavs have a young core of talent that is starting to play together, and the team has an honest chance at getting into the playoffs next season.

What the 76ers would want back in return for a player of Simmons stature will always be up for debate, but the Cavaliers have pieces that the 76ers could use to propel their chances at an NBA title in their future. Here is one proposal of trade deal that I believe could be intriguing to the 76ers.

With no other NBA team jumping up and down in the back of the room trying to gain the attention of the 76ers, maybe the 76ers front office could come back to reality with what they’d thought they could get in return for Simmons talents (or lack of, as their head coach Doc Rivers suggested a while back).

And for what it’s worth, Cleveland is reportedly a wild card as far as a potential destination for a Simmons via trade, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (subscription required).

So what’s a possible deal? We’ll get into that next.