Should the Minnesota Timberwolves trade for Ben Simmons?

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in a pivotal spot this offseason. They have a plethora of young talent but also are going to have pressure from management and ownership to, at the very least, make a play-in game.

Ben Simmons is a 24-year old All-Star caliber player. He undoubtedly struggled in this year’s playoffs, which could mean his value is at an all-time low, making it easier for the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire him.

The Philadelphia 76ers finished as the first seed in the Eastern Conference this past season, in large part due to the contributions of 2021 MVP candidate Joel Embiid (he was the favorite for the award prior to an injury midway though the season).

Should the Minnesota Timberwolves trade for Ben Simmons?

The Timberwolves could make the move to trade for Simmons at a discounted rate from what a trade could have costed even just a year ago.

Look, it may not be the sexy trade to make right now. The hate/distaste for Simmons on social media is at a high. But at the end of the day, he’s a young, All-Star quality player that has two elite, bankable skills in his defense and playmaking.

His scoring isn’t what you would want, but could you imagine a trio of Simmons, Edwards, and Towns? While it wouldn’t be as good as the Philadelphia 76ers team this past season, the upside of that trio could eventually become one of the best teams in the Western Conference – and possibly a contender.

I want to hammer the point home that Simmons’s performance in these playoffs have been an outlier for his career. In his two seasons of playoff experience prior to this one (about 21 games), Simmons is shooting at a rate that is twice as high than that of his two playoff series this year.

I’m not saying that Simmons doesn’t have flaws – he very clearly does. But the Timberwolves are a small-market team that needs to find ways to take advantage of situations like the one in Philadelphia. Simmons is undoubtedly an upgrade over D’Angelo Russell (or most other point guards in the NBA) – and honestly he does not even have to play as the one-guard. Head coach Chris Finch could use Ben in a variety of ways – spelling Towns when he isn’t on the floor at center while also being the primary playmaker when he is, in fact, sharing the floor with Towns.

It may not be a popular option, but at least exploring a Ben Simmons trade is worth it.