Wolves trade for Pat Beverly

[AbeVigodaLive]

Finding a Wolves trade with Simmons is a bit tricky because Philly no longer has George Hill's contract to ship out. While, I think a DLO plus draft picks for Ben works for the Wolves, its a bit hard to figure out how to turn the draft picks into players Philly would want and within the salary cap restraints. I found a trade that would works under the ESPN trade machine if Philly is willing to also willing to ship out Tobias Harris.

Timberwolves trade: DLO, Beasley, Beverley and 2022 first, 2024 first Timberwolves receive: Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Malachi Flynn
Philly trades: Simmons, Tobias Harris, Tolliver & 2024 first round pick: Philly receives: Siakam, DLO, Beverley, Wolves 2024 1st round pick
Toronto trades: Siakam, Flynn Toronto receives Beasley, Tolliver, Wolves 2022 and Philly 2024 first round pick

That doesn't make Philadelphia better this season... and it doesn't give them much for the future either.

It also leaves Minnesota extremely bare in terms of three-point shooting. Ben Simmons would leave one situation that had issues with clogged driving lanes and into another that had similar issues. Yay. The Wolves are back to playing basketball from the 1980's.

Salaries and picks aside... Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris replacing DLO and Beasley and Beverly still makes MN a much better team next season.

You're probably right, but hopefully you're smart enough to realize that Minnesota isn't getting Tobias Harris as a throw-in in any trade. That's what he is in the deal suggested above as it would take an outgoing package close to what was included for just Ben Simmons only. And good luck keeping Jaden McDaniels or Naz Reid in any of those scenarios. The whole cupboard would be emptied and that's assuming Philadelphia would even be interested in selling more of their pieces, which goes against everything reported about them wanting to remain in win-now mode.

That was my point... I didn't see how that's a realistic trade for the 76ers.

[FNG]

FNG, this team is in serious trouble if Naz Reid is one of the best shooters on the roster. Your post illustrates that he'd be exactly that. And look at the roster of last season's Sixers team. While it didn't have enough three-point shooting in the eyes of many, it did have much more than the skeleton of a Wolves team that you're alluding to having post-trade. Acquiring Ben Simmons is a good idea for all of the reasons you've explained above and in the past. Selling your best perimeter shooters -- and in this case a secondary creator -- in order to accomplish that just isn't the right move at this time.

Ha, I agree that we probably shouldn't rely on Naz to be our best 3-point shooter...I gotta admit I'm surprised every time his slow-release three-ball goes in! But I do think a facilitator like Ben can make guys who are already good like KAT, Ant, Jaden and Beverley even better. My main point is that while Simmons is a reluctant and poor shooter from the outside and known mostly as a defensive stopper, he does manage to score 14 PPG in a manner more efficient than any T-Wolf other than KAT, and has also been at the helm of a pretty good Philly offense. Doesn't matter cuz we're not going to get him, but I still would love to see it.

[KG4Ever]

Finding a Wolves trade with Simmons is a bit tricky because Philly no longer has George Hill's contract to ship out. While, I think a DLO plus draft picks for Ben works for the Wolves, its a bit hard to figure out how to turn the draft picks into players Philly would want and within the salary cap restraints. I found a trade that would works under the ESPN trade machine if Philly is willing to also willing to ship out Tobias Harris.

Timberwolves trade: DLO, Beasley, Beverley and 2022 first, 2024 first Timberwolves receive: Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Malachi Flynn
Philly trades: Simmons, Tobias Harris, Tolliver & 2024 first round pick: Philly receives: Siakam, DLO, Beverley, Wolves 2024 1st round pick
Toronto trades: Siakam, Flynn Toronto receives Beasley, Tolliver, Wolves 2022 and Philly 2024 first round pick

That doesn't make Philadelphia better this season... and it doesn't give them much for the future either.

It also leaves Minnesota extremely bare in terms of three-point shooting. Ben Simmons would leave one situation that had issues with clogged driving lanes and into another that had similar issues. Yay. The Wolves are back to playing basketball from the 1980's.

Salaries and picks aside... Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris replacing DLO and Beasley and Beverly still makes MN a much better team next season.

You're probably right, but hopefully you're smart enough to realize that Minnesota isn't getting Tobias Harris as a throw-in in any trade. That's what he is in the deal suggested above as it would take an outgoing package close to what was included for just Ben Simmons only. And good luck keeping Jaden McDaniels or Naz Reid in any of those scenarios. The whole cupboard would be emptied and that's assuming Philadelphia would even be interested in selling more of their pieces, which goes against everything reported about them wanting to remain in win-now mode.

That was my point... I didn't see how that's a realistic trade for the 76ers.

I agree there aren't any likely trades for Simmons. I was illustrating how difficult it is to put a sensible trade out there. Philly likely wants to upgrade Simmons into Lillard or Beal and that likely won't happen anytime soon. Philly is probably best holding onto Simmons. But if it gets to the point that the relationship between Simmons and Philly is unsalvageable, Philly may feel it has to trade Simmons away for less than what he's worth. In that case, I like DLO and draft picks. I also threw out the idea of Siakam in case Philly thinks Siakam is an upgrade over Tobias Harris. If not, then that aspect of the hypothetical doesn't make sense. I really like Tobias and Simmons and I'm not sure if adding another first rounder moves the needle much, but the Wolves could do that.

[Coolbreeze44]

Ben Simmons is a very good, if not great basketball player. He's a top 2 player on a team that can win it all. I don't care what happened at the end of the year. He would be fantastic with KAT and Ant. My problem with Simmons is his back. If there is any reason not to trade for Simmons, that's it. As FNG said, unfortunately we don't have the pieces to acquire him unless you want to part with KAT or Ant. So it's not realistic anyway in my view.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

[Coolbreeze44]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

I can comment on this because I don't include Russell in these trade scenarios. I don't believe he's a negative either. But as I've said 50 times, no GM from here on out is going to be stupid enough to take on DLO until his contract runs out. He is a Wolve and will be at least until such time his contract actually becomes a positive due to its' expiring nature.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

I can comment on this because I don't include Russell in these trade scenarios. I don't believe he's a negative either. But as I've said 50 times, no GM from here on out is going to be stupid enough to take on DLO until his contract runs out. He is a Wolve and will be at least until such time his contract actually becomes a positive due to its' expiring nature.

I'd argue that it's not a matter of other GM's being stupid or not. I don't think any GM from here on out would realistically even have a chance to acquire him. And I could probably make a list of teams that would jump at the opportunity should he become available. Gersson Rosas has made it abundantly clear that he values D-Lo as part of the Wolves' core -- so much so that the trusted local reporters noted that Rosas was unwilling to include him in any offers for Ben Simmons. We'll see if that continues to be the case, but it certainly appears that Minnesota isn't even trying to entertain offers for him, if there even are any to entertain.

[Coolbreeze44]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

I can comment on this because I don't include Russell in these trade scenarios. I don't believe he's a negative either. But as I've said 50 times, no GM from here on out is going to be stupid enough to take on DLO until his contract runs out. He is a Wolve and will be at least until such time his contract actually becomes a positive due to its' expiring nature.

I'd argue that it's not a matter of other GM's being stupid or not. I don't think any GM from here on out would realistically even have a chance to acquire him. And I could probably make a list of teams that would jump at the opportunity should he become available Gersson Rosas has made it abundantly clear that he values D-Lo as part of the Wolves' core -- so much so that the trusted local reporters noted that Rosas was unwilling to include him in any offers for Ben Simmons. We'll see if that continues to be the case, but it certainly appears that Minnesota isn't even trying to entertain offers for him, if there even are any to entertain.

I'd like to see that list. Tell me which GM's would jump at the chance to obtain him given his current contract.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

I can comment on this because I don't include Russell in these trade scenarios. I don't believe he's a negative either. But as I've said 50 times, no GM from here on out is going to be stupid enough to take on DLO until his contract runs out. He is a Wolve and will be at least until such time his contract actually becomes a positive due to its' expiring nature.

I'd argue that it's not a matter of other GM's being stupid or not. I don't think any GM from here on out would realistically even have a chance to acquire him. And I could probably make a list of teams that would jump at the opportunity should he become available Gersson Rosas has made it abundantly clear that he values D-Lo as part of the Wolves' core -- so much so that the trusted local reporters noted that Rosas was unwilling to include him in any offers for Ben Simmons. We'll see if that continues to be the case, but it certainly appears that Minnesota isn't even trying to entertain offers for him, if there even are any to entertain.

I'd like to see that list. Tell me which GM's would jump at the chance to obtain him given his current contract.

- Nico Harrison (Dallas Mavericks)
- Leon Rose (New York Knicks)
- David Griffin (New Orleans Pelicans)
- Troy Weaver (Detroit Pistons)
- Jeff Weltman (Orlando Magic)
- Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Masai Ujiri (Toronto Raptors)
- Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers)

Agree or disagree, every one of these team's decision-makers could use stability at the point guard, or lead guard, position given their situations and would have some avenue of trading for D'Angelo Russell, if he were even available. Russell has two years and $61.4-million total remaining on his deal. That's not even a typical "bad contract" in today's league where they usually span over four and five years worth of commitment.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

It's always interesting to me when we talk about trading for Ben Simmons (or other star talent) and D'Angelo Russell gets brought up. The voices here that usually knock him the hardest are also usually the ones that include him in these hypothetical trade packages to land a bonafide star. It's peculiar because if Russell was as poor of a basketball player or as much of a negative as he's made out to be, then why would the receiving team in any of these theoretical trades have ANY interest in him, especially in exchange for their top talent? Either he has value or he doesn't. Bash him and remain firm that he's not valuable, or change the tune of how he's discussed. The consistency is lacking at times. For those that maintain the belief that Russell is a negative and don't include him in such trade scenarios, then this doesn't apply to you and I applaud your steadiness.

I tend to think we don't have the goods to land Ben Simmons in a straight-up trade with them (unless we give up KAT or Ant), so it would have to be done through some convoluted three of four team deal. Having said that, DLO on the Sixers may be a better fit for them with Embiid on the backside defensively versus KAT. I mean, that's night and day in terms of paint protection. Then they have Thybulle as perhaps one of the league's top young wing defenders....you can may be get away with a no-defense shot maker at PG.