Since being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, most people see Ben Simmons as one of the NBA players who would lead the Philadelphia 76ers back in the NBA Finals and end their decades of title drought. However, though the Sixers are somewhat doing well in the 2019-20 NBA season, there are some people who want Simmons out of the City of Brotherly Love, including former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
In a recent appearance on Radio.com’s Scal and Pals podcast, Perkins said that if he would be the one to decide, the Sixers should have kept Jimmy Butler instead Simmons on their roster, adding that the former is a better fit for Joel Embiid. Perkins suggested that the Sixers should consider moving the 23-year-old point guard before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline.
“I’m taking Jimmy Butler over Ben Simmons all day, man. Jimmy Butler was a better fit for Joel Embiid than Ben Simmons, I’ll tell you that much,” Perkins said, as quoted by News.com.au . “I would, I would try to trade him. I would try to see what offers I could get for him but yeah, I would try to move him. Obviously he’s not the Big Philly. You know, Big Philly is there to stay. Big Joel Embiid is there to stay. I would consider trying to move Ben Simmons.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQVUBi4ZJuo
The idea of trading Simmons may sound crazy, but Perkins definitely has a point when it comes to picking Butler as the better teammate for Embiid. Simmons undeniably has a huge potential to become a legitimate NBA superstar in the league, but he currently lacks the main skill that is needed in the modern NBA – three-point shooting. Despite showing improvements with his floor-spacing ability last summer, Simmons is yet to make his first three-point attempt in the 2019-20 NBA season.
Simmons may have a higher ceiling than Butler, but with the Sixers currently in a win-now mode, they are indeed better off having a more experienced and well-rounded superstar. If the Sixers consider following Perkins’ advice and make Simmons available on the trade market, several NBA teams will surely express a strong interest in adding him to their roster. Rebuilding teams who are still finding a player who could be the face of their franchise would do everything they could to acquire Simmons from the Sixers. However, if ever they really consider trading Simmons, the Sixers would likely demand another All-Star caliber talent who could mesh well with Embiid.
