With the way Ben Simmons' season came to end—zero shot attempts in the final four fourth quarters of the 76ers' semi-finals seven-game series against the Hawks and a 34.2 playoff FT%—Philadelphia fans and media are anticipating and clamoring for a Simmons trade.
Related
Names are flying around in potential trades, with the Blazers as the odds on front-runners to land Simmons with both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum as possible targets, with the former being much less likely.
The other names you hear at the top end of the spectrum are Bradley Beal and Zach Lavine, and at the bottom end Andrew Wiggins or even just the No. 3 overall pick.
Related
So let's continue to speculate. One name we haven't heard often is Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn is reportedly open to moving Irving.
While it doesn't seem likely Kevin Durant and James Harden would be happy about trading Irving, from a franchise standpoint, the Nets certainly do not need three ball dominant iso players. Simmons would give them someone to facilitate and create in transition and an elite versatile defender.
Furthermore, Irving was somewhat of a distraction this season, as he played just 54 games and controversially attended a maskless party in January, which resulted in a forced quarantine and $50,000 fine for violating the NBA's COVID-19 policy. The Nets were reportedly "quite upset" with this.
Irving also dealt with multiple injuries, including a sprained right ankle the cost him the final few games of the Nets' semi-finals series against the Bucks, which resulted in a Game 7 loss.
Related
Irving, 29, is set to make $34.9 million in 2021-22 and then has a player option for $36.5 million in 2022-23, before becoming an unrestricted free-agent.
Simmons, who turns 25 in July, has four years remaining on his five-year, $177 million deal.