Exploring Ben Simmons in Cleveland

    Rumors have been swirling around because nothing else is happening at this point in the offseason. The biggest one right now is about the Ben Simmons saga. Daryl Morey has put an insanely high price tag on Ben Simmons and hasn't received any offers near what he wants in return. Simmons has pretty much cut ties with the Sixers and wants nothing to do with them. He's threatened to hold out from training camp and looks to follow through on that threat. However, the lack of a trade doesn't mean teams don't have interest in Simmons.

    One of the teams that is looking to trade for Ben is the Cavs. There's mutual interest too, as Ben is friends with Darius Garland and really just wants to be anywhere but Philly. Actually getting him to Cleveland, and what he'll look like on this roster, are the hard parts.

    The simplest trade for Ben would be Sexton + Love for Simmons, but I don't like that move very much. Sexton is flat out phenomenal and not someone I want to move, even for Simmons. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley aren't going anywhere, either. Isaac Okoro does make things interesting, though. A package of Okoro, Rubio, Osman, and a bunch of picks could be an option. It's yet to be seen what Philly thinks about that, but a gut reaction says they want more win-now talent. Also depends on how much Philly buys in on Okoro's offensive upside and how he played to close out last year. An additional wrinkle to that is to move Jarrett Allen for some other asset to send to Philly (like Rozier) but what that actually looks like is unknown. Allen definitely could start packing his bags when Simmons shows up, making a team work that has Simmons, Mobley, Lauri, and Allen is impossible.

    Assuming Okoro, Rubio, and Allen get moved in a deal that lands us Ben Simmons, the fit of the roster definitely changes.

Rotation (position/player/minutes)

PG: Garland 32, Sexton 16

SG: Sexton 16, ???

SF: Simmons 32, Windler 16

PF: Lauri 16, Wade/Love 32

C: Mobley 32, Lauri 16

Lineups follow my standard model, three lineups of ~16mpg

Starting 5: Garland, Sexton, Simmons, Lauri, Mobley

    The primary action on offense would be Garland/Mobley PnR, Ben probably sits in the dunker's spot. There's also room for other actions, like Sexton/Lauri PnP, Garland/Simmons PnR, and other stuff, but the real hangups I have are the off-ball games of Ben and Mobley when they aren't involved in the action. They could easily just sit in the dunker's spot, but I'm not the biggest fan of the dunker's spot. It's useful, but I think a good spot up shooter is better.

    In the Garland/Simmons PnRs, it'll be interesting to see if Mobley is more useful sitting in the dunker's spot or in the corner. The same can be said when Mobley is the screener and Ben is off-ball. There should also be good spacing for Simmons drives, again depending on how effective Mobley is when he's not a part of these actions.

Lineup 2: Sexton, ???, Simmons, Wade, Lauri

    I really just don't know who is the fifth man in this lineup. Maybe it's Windler, maybe it's Cedi, maybe someone else. Regardless, they'll need to be able to shoot. Also the position doesn't really matter all that much because Ben can guard anyone.

 

   The interesting part about this lineup is that you can get some super good spacing with a frontcourt of Wade (or Love, he's somehow still on the roster) and Lauri. This is where you can really test how Ben fares with 5-out spacing. Is he closer to Giannis or Draymond? This will probably be where we find out the answer.

    I also really want to see Sexton get opportunities with 5-out iso and PnP. I think he can excel there, but Ben really doesn't do anything for you spotting up. He'd sit in the dunker's spot, but maybe that's better because it means less gap help on Sexton's drives? I don't know.

Lineup 3: Garland, ???, Windler, Wade, Mobley

    The same predicament presents itself in this lineup regarding the last rotation player. I really just don't know what the best option is. Cedi being good would be helpful. Regardless, this lineup should be the simplest out of the three. Straight Garland/Mobley PnR, with an extremely mobile and switchy defense. Mobley and Wade is a fit I am high on in the long term on both sides of the ball, and seeing them together with a straightforward offense will be exciting.

    Acquiring Ben Simmons definitely poses questions to be answered. His fit with Mobley definitely will be an experiment in the impact of the dunker's spot vs a good spot up shooter when it comes to floor spacing. Mobley becoming the Day 1 full time center is also something that could cause problems, I'm not sure he's ready for that. The money situation is also something to consider. Simmons is on a 4-year max, Love has 2 years remaining, Sexton's due for an extension in a year, and Garland's hypothetical extension will kick in as soon as Love's contract expires. Mobley, Simmons, and Lauri will also require new contracts in 4 years. We'll also be pick-strapped for a while, as Simmons won't come cheap. Simmons himself will be the biggest question. You simply don't know what you're getting with him. Are his failures in Philly a product of a poor fit with Embiid or a mental block? Is he still a franchise player? Will Ben continue to be a diva in different situation?

The only thing certain about Simmons' fit in Cleveland is that nothing is certain.