Getty Ben Simmons (L) and Kevin Durant (R).
With the Kevin Durant trade saga now behind the Brooklyn Nets, all of the effort can now be shifted into turning the team into a championship contender.
They have already started doing that with insider Marc Stein reported the team is in advanced talks in bringing in veteran forward Markieff Morris.
Update: The Nets have moved into advanced discussions with free agent forward Markieff Morris as Brooklyn seeks to bolster its frontcourt, league sources say.
My earlier around-the-league notes column:
He’d be a nice piece off the bench, but adding a name like Morris wouldn’t do much to move the needle in terms of winning a championship. At this stage, there’s really not much they can do to make a leap like that outside of making a blockbuster move.
However, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz floats a move that would send Ben Simmons to the Washington Wizards in exchange for a trio of players, including former NBA champ Kyle Kuzma. This would be a way of moving a player who hasn’t even suited up for the franchise yet in return for players who could bolster the bench.
Simmons to Wizards
On paper, this seems like a strange trade to make considering Simmons is an All-NBA talent, but it makes a bit of sense considering how removed he is from last playing in a professional game.
If the Nets are looking to win a title, they’ll need all the help they can get and Simmons hasn’t proven he can be that guy for them. Even his former teammates are still taking shots at him, so perhaps it’s best to just move on. Here’s what Swartz proposes:
- Brooklyn Nets Receive: F Kyle Kuzma, F Rui Hachimura, SG Will Barton
- Washington Wizards Receive: G/F Ben Simmons
The Nets need big men, and while this trade doesn’t exactly solve that problem, it does give the team so more depth. Kuzma can be a good shooter from deep, Hachimura has more than proven he can be a rotational player in the NBA, and Barton could be a starter for the team on any given night.
Of course, giving up a healthy Simmons who has returned to form would be a tough pill to swallow, but Swartz argues it could be for the best considering all three of these players have starter potential.
“Kuzma, Hachimura and Barton are all starter-caliber players the Nets can plug in around Durant and Irving, giving them a nice dose of scoring, playmaking and positional versatility,” he wrote.
This depth would also come in handy in case Durant does down with another injury like he did last season that caused the Nets to slip into the play-in tournament.
As for the Wizards, this could create a star trio in Washington.
“Washington can afford to take a gamble on Simmons’ talent, as this team is loaded with wings and forwards yet doesn’t possess any All-Stars outside of Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis,” Swartz wrote.
Don’t Count on It
While it can be fun to envision trades like this, it doesn’t seem like Simmons will be moved.
Back in July, the New York Post’s Brian Lewis reported that Simmons isn’t going anywhere.
“And when asked if Simmons had gotten assurances he was in the Nets’ long-term plans and would not be traded, a source close to the young All-Star told The Post simply that ‘Ben is good,’” he said.
That did come in the midst of the Kevin Durant trade saga, so there’s a chance that things may have changed between then and now.
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