Ever since Ben Simmons felt the wrath of his own fans and the endless rebukes of the media, following his less-than-glorious displays in the postseason, he’s been linked with any number of potential offseason moves and one that keeps popping back up is a switch to the Golden State Warriors.
Simmons was something of a scapegoat for the Philadelphia 76ers crashing out to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in June and is apparently not too happy about the way his organization has failed to, in his view, back him up.
Now the talk of the 25-year-old leaving the Wells Fargo Center continues to persist and a move to Golden State would certainly be an interesting one and definitely, a trade that would affect the NBA scores and odds associated with the Warriors. Currently, you can get (+1000) on Steph Curry’s side clinching the NBA title, and those would only improve if Simmons was to move to San Francisco.
Apparently, there is something of a split at Golden State in terms of a possible move to capture Simmons, with some in the front office being of the belief that he isn’t right for the franchise and others believing that the 76ers man might be just what is needed to boost Steve Kerr’s roster.
The Warriors made it to five successive NBA finals between 2015 and 2019, winning on three occasions (all against the Cleveland Cavaliers) and losing twice (to the Cavs and the Raptors) but the last two seasons have been less than glorious.
Both the last two campaigns have seen the Warriors fail to make it to the playoffs and that’s not a situation that president Rick Wells is going to allow to continue indefinitely and as such a high-profile move for Simmons may make sense.
Last season Simmons posted good regular-season numbers but was found wanting in playoff action, especially when entering the final quarter in the matches that the 76ers lost out to the Hawks.
Interestingly enough some stats suggest that Simmons’ playoff stats are better than a certain Michael Jordan, but then it’s true you can frame statistics to help your argument, especially if you look very hard indeed.
Some believe that Simmons may elect to not turn up to training camp as he looks to push for a move and as well as Golden State the likes of the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves are sniffing around the talented Melbourne-born Louisiana State graduate.
Indeed a lot would depend on just what sort of package Philadelphia are driving to get for Simmons and whether those expectations are realistic and one imagines that the price on his head will start to decrease the nearer we get to the new season.
Thus far the offers for his services are considered to be lowball attempts but the race may well heat up in the coming weeks and months and one thing is for sure, this will rumble on for some time to come.