Given what happened to the Spurs with Kawhi Leonard, I can't believe that there are so many people here willing to trade for Ben Simmons when he's basically doing the same thing to the 76ers that Kawhi did to the Spurs. In my mind, the
best case scenario that would happen would be:
- Ben Simmons comes to the Spurs
- His shooting improves steadily over the next 4 years due to Chip's coaching
- The Spurs get better and better each year
- By 2024-2025, the Spurs reach the WCF, Ben Simmons is 1st team all-nba, shooting 38% from 3P and 75% FT
But you know what will happen next.. After his contract is up, Simmons will flee SA and head to one of his preferred teams, probably some team in California. And the Spurs will be left in the same position that they were in when Kawhi left, which is a middle of the pack, 8th seed type team. And don't tell me that Simmons will stay in SA when Kawhi didn't stay in Toronto even after winning a championship there.
So given that Simmons would leave after 4 years, and may even force his way out after 3 years, it would only be worth it if the Spurs could win a championship in that time. But I don't think that [Simmons + Spurs young core - players and draft picks given up in the trade] is anywhere close to contending for a championship, given that [Embiid + Simmons + 76ers role players] couldn't get past Atlanta and Embiid is way better than anyone the Spurs could hope to draft/acquire in the next 3-4 years.
Thought experiment: Imagine if Kawhi were originally drafted by the Pacers, and then he forced his way out in the same way, getting traded to Toronto then leaving for the Clippers. Now imagine that he is unhappy with the Clippers and wants out (pretend he's not injured), and has named 4 other teams as his preferred destinations: GS, LAL, Nets, Heat. Would you trade for him, knowing that he doesn't want to play in SA? If not, why would you trade for Simmons?
The whole Kawhi fiasco has really turned me off to any player who tries to force their way off their team. It's one thing to request to be traded, which I can respect. But it's another to stop speaking to anyone on the team and tanking your own trade value, which both Kawhi and Simmons have done. I have no doubts that whichever team ends up with Simmons will regret it after 3-4 years when he decides it's time to get out of town and leave for greener pastures.