Timberwolves: How they could win a Ben Simmons for Damian Lillard trade
By Ethan Becker
The trade between the Blazers, Sixers and Timberwolves that would make it all happen
The first question to answer is why would the Timberwolves enter themselves into this equation. A trade that sends Lillard to Philly for Simmons in a one-for-one deal works cap-wise, so what advantage do these teams get? Well, it’s highly unlikely the Portland would be ok with losing Damian Lillard and only receiving Ben Simmons in return. While Simmons is an All-Star, he hasn’t shown himself to be a starting point guard of a championship contender.
Meanwhile, most of Portland’s blunders happened in spite of Lillard, who could easily be a franchise centerpiece. Put simply, there are levels to this: Simmons is a star, Lillard is a superstar.
So, because of that, Philly needs some more firepower. But tinkering too much with the roster lowers their chemistry, and it hurts the team’s chances at winning a championship (too many new players, and all that). That’s where Minnesota comes in. Portland benefits because Minnesota has some role players that could help a rebuilding team, and Philadelphia benefits because they won’t have to send too many more of their players away. One possible trade could look like this:
With this trade, Philadelphia gets the superstar guard they’ve been craving, along with a role player who could thrive in that system in Jarrett Culver, Portland gets Simmons, an All-Star still despite any apparent post-season struggles, along with two role players to deepen their bench slightly more than Nassir Little, along with a 2021 first-round pick, which they currently don’t have.
Minnesota, on the other hand, gets Seth Curry–a great shooter and reliable role guy–gets rid of some players who have been underperforming expectations recently, clears about $4.5 million in cap space–giving them just enough to get a role player in the Enes Kanter, Reggie Bullock, or Reggie Jackson range–and they pick up some makeup draft picks for not having any this year. Anthony Tolliver is there mainly to make the salaries work, but could be a nice veteran guy for the team.