Cleveland Cavaliers: Pros and cons of trading for Ben Simmons

Pros

Let’s start with the obvious. Repairing the void left from LeBron James‘ decision will forever be impossible – but bringing a star player back to Cleveland would certainly help ease the pain for many fans.

The city of Cleveland has been lucky to acquire big-name players in both baseball and football recently. In contrast, the Cavaliers have watched their big-three dwindle down to just the ghost of Kevin Love. Trading for Ben Simmons would at the very least bring some excitement back to Cleveland basketball.

Why exactly is that? Well, Simmons is about as good as they come in terms of defense and playmaking. Coincidentally, these happen to be the two weakest areas of the Cavaliers’ rebuild. Simmons instantly fixes these issues.

According to Paul Hudrick of NBC Sports, Simmons has held All-Star opponents to just 41.5 percent shooting when defending them for at least 10 minutes in a game. He is a lockdown man-on-man defender and can impact the game off-ball, ranking third in deflections per game and first in defensive loose balls recovered.

On offense, Simmons has his limitations. However, he is a gifted passer with great court vision and a knack for setting up his teammates. His tall frame helps him whip passes over the defense and he averages the fifth-most assists in the NBA.

Simmons’ lack of a 3-point shot has restricted him as a pick-and-roll ball-handler but he has found success as the role man. Before his injury, Philly began experimenting with Simmons at the power forward position. Placing him in the dunker spot made him more of a weapon without the ball and could be crucial for his game moving forward.

The Cavaliers blueprint would be simplified if they brought in Simmons. In order to maximize their potential – they only need to surround him with quality 3-point shooters. Copying the style that elite teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets utilize should be enough to push the Cavs back into the playoff picture.