The Minnesota Timberwolves have become the favorite to land point guard Ben Simmons.
It looks as if Ben Simmons had played his last game with the Philadelphia 76ers. That was assured to be the case after reports surfaced saying Simmons “intends to never play another game” for the team.
With that cleared up, the question then became, where will Simmons play next. It is believed that the Minnesota Timberwolves have the best shot at landing the All-Star point guard. That is according to the odds over at BetMGM.
Can Ben Simmons to the Timberwolves work?
The Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished 23-49 in an injury-riddled season, has a number of talented young players. Built around the core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell, they have shown the promise to improve as a franchise.
An All-Star player like Ben Simmons would certainly help with that improvement. For starters, Simmons would bring elite defense, something desperately needed on a Minnesota team that had a defensive rating of 114.5, ranking 28 out of the 30 NBA teams. Additionally, Simmons’ playmaking ability would pair great with talented scorers like Towns, Edwards and Russell.
The only issue is what will the Timberwolves send in order to bring Simmons to Minnesota. Surely Philadelphia would like to replace Simmons at point guard so that makes it likely that D’Angelo Russell is a name they will bring up in any negotiations. How willing is Minnesota to part ways with Russell for Simmons? Will Towns and Russell’s friendship be considered if that deal presents itself?
It is possible a third team can be brought in to help facilitate a deal that gets Simmons to Minnesota. The Houston Rockets, who have the second-best odds to land Simmons, are working on their own situation to move veteran point guard John Wall. It is possible that the three teams can work together and hammer out a trade that looks something like Wall to Philadelphia, Simmons to Minnesota, and Minnesota sending young players and draft compensation to both teams.
With training camps beginning next week, teams need to get on the phone and start working out who is going where. The longer things drag out, the more complicated and messy the situation becomes.