Why The Warriors Shouldn’t Trade for Ben Simmons

Ruben Banuelos, Staff Writer

The Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads as they navigate plans to ensure the team’s success, and trading Draymond Green for Ben Simmons is not the key to success.
Last year they finished 9th overall in the Western Conference after having a tough exit loss against the Memphis Grizzlies in the league’s first-ever playoff tournament. This ending resulted in the Warriors having to pick 14th in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The Warriors have their pick secured, but they also have the rights to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 7th overall pick. The Warriors lucked out on this after the choice fell out of the top five.
With the Warriors in the off-season, the team has many decisions regarding their future success. Should the team package include the draft picks and others to bring in another star, such as Ben Simmons, to pair with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson — or should they go ahead and keep the picks and draft the players?
Rumors are spreading that the Warriors could be conversing with the Philadelphia 76ers to form a deal that will end up trading Simmons to the Bay Area. If the Warriors’ big offseason move is to bring in the Australian guard, Curry will, yet again, bear the burden of leading the team to the playoffs.
There is no way this trade will go through without involving Draymond Green in the deal. General manager of the 76ers, Darryl Morrey, is too wise of a GM to let go of a player like Simmons for Andrew Wiggins and the 7th overall pick. Adding Green to the deal now makes things interesting, but the Warriors should steer clear.
Ben Simmons is an All-Star and one of the many bright young stars of the league. His defensive impact alone should bring in many offers for the player.
“I understand we [the Warriors] need the defensive anchor, but Simmons can’t even shoot the three, which the Warriors thrive off of,” Shaun Harvey de Silva, a fan of the team, commented. “Why would we surround Curry, who is gravity when he has the ball, with a player who can’t even shoot or score prolifically.”
The Warriors don’t need Ben Simmons when they already have a better version of him in Draymond Green; exchanging the two players will only hold the team back.
Green already has the skill set that a player like Simmons would bring to the team. Green, at times, is the playmaker on the floor, having Thompson (before his injury) and Curry moving without the ball. He has a high basketball IQ and is a past Defensive Player of the Year.
Green also brings the muscle and heart on both ends of the floor with high-level championship experience (three of them) and can also hit a free throw at times.
The Warriors have three foundational pieces in Green, Curry, and Thompson. We’ve already seen them bring championship glory to the city. Why fix something that’s not broken?
The foundation is set; the team should instead look into investing in this year’s stacked draft class.
“The Warriors do need to add offensive pieces to their roster to get back to playoff contention once Klay returns. But I don’t think the team needs to pick up Ben Simmons,” Steven Anthony, a local fan, stated. “The team needs solid role players and not a star player who looks to deal with confidence issues and passes the ball with opportunities to score.”
To reiterate, the Warriors were one win away from making the playoffs, and last year’s team was pretty rough sometimes. We see what the Phoenix Suns did this year in the playoffs; they built off the depth and represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors should use their draft picks to draft key rotational pieces in the lineup to benefit the Warriors’ championship hopes; while also looking towards the future.
The only part that would be intriguing in a proposed Golden State trade is Simmon’s development as a shooter. Simmons already has all the tangibles a player needs to succeed in this league. The only thing he’s missing is a jumper — a place like Golden State, where shooting is mastered to a fine.
A player like Simmons, who can prosper in that environment, can only bring good to him. Having his game transitioning from passing an open layup to unguardable would only be a matter of time at Golden State.
Ben Simmons is a bright future star in the league who will have many teams calling in for the player. Simmons will have another chance at success within another couple of years, though the Warriors probably won’t be one.