As the 2021 offseason goes deeper, most NBA fans are waiting to see where Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons would play in the 2021-22 NBA season. Though they failed to secure a deal during the 2021 NBA Draft night, Simmons’ departure from the City of Brotherly Love is inevitable. As of now, the Sixers are actively searching for a deal centered on Simmons that would enable them to build a more competitive team around the face of the franchise, Joel Embiid.
Proposed Three-Way Blockbuster Deal Sends Ben Simmons To Kings
In a recent article, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report created a list of blockbuster trade ideas featuring the biggest superstars on the trade market. These include the hypothetical three-team trade that would send Simmons to the Sacramento Kings.
In the proposed trade scenario, the Kings would get Simmons, the Sixers would receive Buddy Hield, Goran Dragic, first-round picks in 2022 and 2024, and second-round picks in 2023 and 2025, while the Toronto Raptors would obtain Marvin Bagley III and Furkan Korkmaz.
Ben Simmons Starts New Journey With Kings
Though it would cost them Bagley III, Hield, and a couple of future first-round selections, the proposed blockbuster deal would be worth exploring for the Kings. Simmons may have gone through plenty of ups and downs last season, but his superstar potential is undeniable. In Simmons, the Kings would be adding another franchise centerpiece that perfectly fits the timeline of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.
Joining the Kings won’t put Simmons closer to winning his first NBA championship title, but having a fresh start in Sacramento could help him regain his confidence and return to the right path to becoming a legitimate superstar in the league.
Sixers Turn Ben Simmons Into An Elite Three-Pointer & A Veteran Playmaker
Though it’s not the ideal trade package that they want to get in return for Simmons, swapping the former No. 1 pick for Hield, Dragic, and multiple draft assets wouldn’t be a bad idea at all for the Sixers. Hield would address the Sixers’ need for improvement in terms of floor-spacing, giving them one of the league’s best three-point shooters.
Last season, Hield averaged 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN.
Meanwhile, though he’s already on the downside of his career, a battle-tested playoff veteran like Dragic would still be useful to an aspiring contender like the Sixers. The Sixers could utilize Dragic as their starting point guard or the leader of their second unit next season.
Raptors Get Two Young Players
Meanwhile, as compensation for helping the Kings and the Sixers facilitate the trade, the Raptors would be receiving two young and promising players in Bagley III and Korkmaz who could be part of the core of the next-title contending team that they would try to build in Toronto.
"A healthy Bagley could be a really fun frontcourt fit with do-it-all rookie forward Scottie Barnes—a pairing that might embolden Toronto to trade Pascal Siakam for a mountain of assets—while Korkmaz would add a reliable outside shot (career 37.7 percent) and a stable future by way of his new three-year, $ 15 million deal," Buckley wrote.
