The NBA Finals may be ongoing, but Ben Simmons has managed to become the man of the hour nonetheless. Not for his success in the NBA playoffs, mind you, but rather for his struggles and failures in this postseason, and a team like the Chicago Bulls may end up benefiting.
On Tuesday afternoon, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Philadelphia 76ers have opened trade talks and are engaging with teams on the topic of moving Simmons. According to Marc Stein, teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors are already displaying interest.
The NBA Finals may be ongoing, but Ben Simmons is quickly becoming the talk of NBA circles once again. Could the Chicago Bulls make a trade for him?
The Bulls aren’t mentioned in this crop of teams, but they may be part of a shadowy core of dark horse teams interested in trading for Simmons. If they did make an offer, what form would it take?
Our friends at Bleacher Report have come up with a hypothetical trade that we’ll examine from the perspectives of both teams. This trade looks like this:
So how would this trade pan out for both teams? Is it close to equal, or close enough for both teams to have an interest in pursuing a deal like this? Let’s take a look at both perspectives, starting with the Philadelphia 76ers.