Mavs Not a Trade Suitor for Nets' Ben Simmons
The Dallas Mavericks are often mentioned in trade rumors and speculation. With Luka Doncic being an elite talent without an All-Star teammate, there are plenty of hypothetical possibilities for a move to be made.
Among the recently reported names to be linked to the Mavs was Ben Simmons, who has struggled to find his prior form with the Brooklyn Nets. Last week, Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney claimed that one Western Conference executive expressed a belief that the Mavs are a 'team to watch' when it comes to a potential Ben Simmons trade.
“Dallas is a team to watch, Simmons would be an interesting fit next to Luka (Doncic) if the Nets were willing to take back (Tim) Hardaway and (Davis) Bertans. I am not sure how much higher the Mavs could go in terms of an offer but that would definitely be interesting for Luka.”
Simmons is averaging 5.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 27.2 minutes per game this season and has failed to reach double-figures scoring in all nine of his appearances. He is currently coming off the bench with limited playing time under interim coach Jacque Vaughn.
As reported by Marc Stein on Substack, the Mavs are 'not a trade suitor registering interest' in Simmons. The possibility of an attempt to manufacture trade interest around the NBA was mentioned.
"Contrary to recent reports, league sources say Dallas is not a trade suitor registering interest in Brooklyn's struggling Ben Simmons," Stein wrote. "This might be one of those cases, I'm told, where the Mavericks have been mentioned repeatedly to try to create some sort of market for Simmons."
From a basketball standpoint, it would make little sense for the Mavs to take a chance on Simmons in a trade. He's shown an increasing reluctance to be aggressive in attacking the basket and continues to be a non-shooter. Next to Doncic, that would hinder the half-court offense.
Simmons has yet to even find his footing as a defender. He used to be arguably the NBA's most versatile defender before deciding to sit out with the Philadelphia 76ers. At 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot wingspan, he could guard just about any player with real force while being a real weapon as an off-ball defender in the passing lanes and as a help defender.
The Mavs recently moved on from Kristaps Porzingis before last year's trade deadline with him still being owed $33.8 million in 2023-24 with a $36 million player option in 2023-24. Given that he's a rim protector and stretch-five, there is far greater utility for his skill-set than that of Simmons.
Simmons is not only owed over $35.4 million this season, but he will earn $37.9 million in 2023-24 and $40.3 million in 2024-25 with all of it being fully guaranteed. It would be a much greater financial obligation overall for a worse fitting player than who the Mavs already moved on from.
When putting all of the context together, perhaps the "anonymous Western Conference executive" may want to evaluate their understanding of the other 29 teams around the NBA.
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