Chicago Bulls: Analyzing a hypothetical trade for Ben Simmons
By Duncan Smith
Does this Ben Simmons trade work for the Philadelphia 76ers?
The Sixers send out Ben Simmons and receive in return Lauri Markkanen, Coby White, Tomas Satoransky and a top-three protected 2025 first-round pick. While getting back guard depth is nice for the Sixers and you can’t go wrong with a first-round pick, this deal would leave them worse off than before the trade.
Markkanen is inconsistent and has been mostly disappointing in his NBA career thus far, and would almost equate to a return to the Al Horford era, just a much worse version. He doesn’t play anything like Horford, but he’ll gum up the works and clog the frontcourt. It may be hard to find a player the Sixers need less than Markkanen in a Ben Simmons deal.
Simmons is a floor-raiser and would likely make the Bulls too good for that 2025 pick to be worth much, as well. His contract runs through 2024-25, and it’s safe to assume the Bulls would be at least a fringe playoff team for the duration of that deal. Coby White is probably the favorable portion of the entire trade scenario for the Sixers, and they will certainly demand a whole lot more than this package for Ben Simmons’s services.
This trade does not work for the Philadelphia 76ers.