Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Ben Simmons has been linked to the Warriors in plenty of trade rumors, but even with his new trade demand, a deal seems unlikely.
Ben Simmons is doing his best to force the Philadelphia 76ers to compromise on a trade, threatening to hold out from training camp if they can’t find a deal. He’s been linked with the Golden State Warriors in countless rumors and, between James Wiseman, Andrew Wiggins and their two first-round picks from this season, they theoretically have the pieces to get the 76ers’ attention.
But in this case, the reticence may be coming from the Warriors’ side.
The Warriors aren’t wild about the idea of playing Ben Simmons and Draymond Green together
Per a report from Monte Pool of NBC Sports: “According to league sources, any interest the Warriors might have in Simmons is conditional. In short, they’re not that interested as long as Draymond Green is on the roster.”
This is completely understandable and a fairly obvious snag in any potential deal. The players are extremely similar, versatile defenders who can handle the ball and create on offense but present almost no threat as an outside shooter.
Including Green in a trade doesn’t really make sense — he wouldn’t really solve any of the current fit problems the 76ers have with Simmons. And, as the Warriors look to compete for another title, Green’s experience and synergy with the rest of the roster are way more valuable than any future upside Simmons could offer. A third team could potentially be included but in theory, they’d need to be willing to offer something of value to both the Warriors and 76ers and finding a team for that may be harder than just finding a straight-up partner for the 76ers.
In the end, this may be one of those deals that sounds great in theory but not so much in practice.