After taking on another first-round pick from the Boston Celtics, could the Oklahoma City Thunder trade for Sixers point guard Ben Simmons?
Simmons hasn’t been made available by Philadelphia…yet. They’re in the middle of a playoff run, of course.
Yet, Doc Rivers squad blew a 20-point lead in Game 5, and now face elimination in Atlanta. It would be a rather humiliating defeat for a group expected to at least make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ben Simmons notably has been absent for nearly this entire series. On the scorers’ sheet, Philadelphia needs more, and he’s still uncomfortable shooting from beyond 10 feet. This includes from the charity stripe.
Should the 76ers lose, the front office must have a tough conversation about Simmons. Joel Embiid is obviously here to stay. Simmons isn’t an immovable object.
NBA rumors: Could the Thunder trade for Ben Simmons?
Sure, why not?
If the Thunder decide they’d rather invest some of that draft capital into a young player, then Simmons is an appropriate target. He’s still just 24 years of age, and the Thunder have three first-round picks this year, including potentially two in the top-10 if the Rockets selection falls out of the top-4.
The Thunder potentially have nine first-round picks in the next three drafts. If they packaged, say, 3-4 of those to Philadelphia for Simmons, this could work. Should the Sixers lose this series against the Hawks, selling low on Simmons might be the answer in the hopes of retooling around Embiid.
I’m not saying it’s likely, but is it really that farfetched? There’s no way Presti hangs onto all these picks, especially after watching Danny Ainge crash and burn for that same technique in Boston.
When the Thunder are ready to trade for talent, they have the assets to do so.