Rumour: The Golden State Warriors Could Trade For Ben Simmons And Al Horford In Exchange For Andrew Wiggins And The No. 2 Pick Of The 2020 NBA Draft. Is Daryl Morrey Making A Mistake?

After another empty season of not making it past the first or second round of the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers are eager to make significant changes to ensure a greater chance of making it far into the playoffs. From signing an experienced head coach in Doc Rivers to recently acclaiming Daryl Morey from Houston, who famously orchestrated the James Harden trade, the 76ers are determined that they will be a championship-contending team next season. Although the staff signings have been excellent, the biggest outlier that needs to be assessed is who actually is “The Process” of the 76ers. While Joel Embiid is regarded as the best player in Philadelphia and the best center in the Eastern Conference, his injury record should be factored in whether or not keeping him as the focal rebuilding piece instead of Ben Simmons. With many rumours circulating the internet of Joel Embiid possibly getting traded, a new rumour has surfaced regarding Ben Simmons and the Golden State Warriors. The proposed trade offer that NBC Sports Insider Tom Haberstroh suggested was Ben Simmons and Al Horford In exchange for Andrew Wiggins and the second pick of the 2020 NBA draft. With this year’s draft being solid with no guaranteed superstar, is this trade worth giving away a future MVP candidate? 

In the last six seasons, not including this season, Bob Myers, the Golden State Warriors’ general manager, managed to create one of the greatest dynasties this sport has ever seen. From drafting one of the greatest players to ever play basketball in Stephen Curry to defying all odds in signing Kevin Durant in 2017, Bob Myers, for the most part, worked his way from the bottom in creating this dynasty, making him easily the best general manager in the NBA today. Despite all of the success that Golden State has been able to accumulate over the years, this season showed the fatigue of this dynasty as Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson suffered severe injuries that would sideline them for most of the 2019-20 NBA season. However, due to COVID-19, most NBA teams have had a long break to either rest, train or develop. For players such as Klay Thompson, he has had more than a year of rest and training, which can only determine that the Golden State Warriors should be in playoff status.

Despite the greatness of Golden State, they are in a position where they are no longer the NBA’s unanimous champions. While the Warriors were suffering from their significant injuries, the Western Conference overwhelmingly became extremely competitive as almost every team in this conference has a legitimate argument for making the playoffs next season. This means that for the Warriors to return to unanimous champion status, they would need to form a superteam. With the Warriors attaining the second pick of the 2020 NBA draft followed by a border-line All-Star in Andrew Wiggins, the possibility of attaining a fourth All-Star could be more than likely. 

The trade that is proposed by Tom Haberstroh is very one-sided as the Warriors receive not only an All-Star but an above-average center in the NBA that would fit perfectly with the Warriors system due to his perimeter defence and three-point shooting. Even though Horford did have a terrible season, he was also given a reduced role while reportedly never being healthy. With the extended rest period that most players have received, Al Horford could return to his All-Star calibre status as he would be the starting center of the Golden State Warriors. However, Ben Simmons is the focal point of this trade as he is an All-Star and one of the best future players the NBA possesses. If Ben Simmons were given a situation where he is the primary facilitator while being surrounded by pure shooters, he would produce MVP type numbers. Ben Simmons, on the Golden State Warriors, would grant him full access to the best shooters in NBA history while also being the primary facilitator on the team. Furthermore, Simmons would be the future of Golden State and possibly the main reason as to why Golden State would return to championship status. This trade is almost a robbery as the Warriors would attain an expensive center that fits the system well while securing their future star in many seasons to come. For the 76ers, this trade is clustered, considering that perimeter scoring would still be non-existent for this team. While Andrew Wiggins is a decent player, his inability to shoot three-pointers has hindered his career tremendously. The second-round pick is the focal point of this trade as it would free up some cap-space while potentially drafting a future All-Star calibre player. This would hinder the 76ers attempt at making it further into the playoffs as they would receive an over-priced inconsistent player with some potential while drafting a player that has never played in the NBA. For a team with a win-now mentality, this trade could shape their future while slowing down their current goals. If the 76ers want a viable chance at winning a championship, the last thing that they should do is trade away Ben Simmons as he is the future of the Philadelphia 76ers.  

Although this trade is not terrible for both organizations, the Golden State Warriors would undoubtedly become the 2020-21 NBA champions with Ben Simmons and Al Horford. The Warriors would finally claim the perfect center for their system in Al Horford while trading for a future superstar that can play-make like Magic Johnson while exhibiting elite defence. Golden State would once again return to dynasty status while the Philadelphia 76ers would foreshadow a potential rebuild. Although Embiid would produce superstar numbers, the rest of the organization would be lacklustre as only Shake Milton and Tobias Harris can consistently shoot three-pointers. If the 76ers want a better future, keeping Ben Simmons and trading big contracts such as Tobias Harris and Al Horford should be the primary focus for this organization.