Cavs: Cleveland needs to avoid trading for Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons will likely be shopped and the Cavs should not be buying.

The Cavs have so many issues and a maze-like interior to try and find the way through. They need to evaluate their talent, decide who’s going to be worth the money, and decide who’s not, and then go and build a team worth watching. One of those paths the Cavaliers could take is making a massive trade. Now, a lot of names have been thrown out there, from Zach Lavine to C.J. McCollum and Ben Simmons. Some make sense to go after, others don’t.

Namely, Simmons, as he’s proven to be a player the Cavaliers should stay far-far away from.

Let’s be clear, Simmons is a fine player. He really is. He’s great defensively and on that fact alone would be a great fit with the Cavs. There’d even be potential for an Isaac Okoro-built trade for Simmons. He’d do very well in the Cavaliers system. A 12 point, 10 rebounds, 10+ assist guy? Sure!

Attributes and salary make Ben Simmons untradeable.

As long as he doesn’t need to be the star, Ben Simmons would’ve been a great fit. Would have. Past tense. The fact of the matter is the Cavs don’t need a $30 million non-shooter. If this were 1997, go for it. It’s not. The way to win in the NBA is the peremiter. The four remaining teams? All have great perimeter play.

Simmons for half of his salary would be a huge get for any team. His defense alone is worth $10 million, and then you add on the fact he can pass and rebound? Yeah, $15 million is fair for him. The problem is that Simmons can’t shoot, and has never really been able to. It’s not even from the three-point line, which would be an automatic deal-breaker on its own, considering the needs the Cavs have currently. No, it’s not just that, Simmons can’t shoot from mid-range.

Even Okoro, who was a bad scorer for the Cavaliers in his rookie year, was a more dynamic scorer than Simmons. If the Cavs were built like the Golden State Warriors, Simmons could fit. The problem will always come down to the fact that he is not a $30+ million player, and that is going to hurt his ability to get moved.

Now, if the 76ers wanted someone like Kevin Love, sure. Simmons, while ungodly overpaid, is still an upgrade over Love in this system. It isn’t likely to happen, however, as the 76ers will likely try to trade Simmons for another star.

No team should be foolish enough to make that trade. Simmons isn’t a star, and he isn’t even really an All-Star player either. He’s a very good roleplayer. That’s what he should be paid as, and traded for.