The Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff loss and Ben Simmons’ shooting woes may have given the Los Angeles Lakers an out-of-the-box opportunity to trade for the 24-year old point guard and turn him into a small ball point center.
While it might be a long shot considering the competition and the Lakers’ need for shooting, the idea of Superstar Big Three front court of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Ben Simmons could transform the Lakers. Imagine the Lakers next season with a modern defense anchored by 6′ 9,” 250 lbs LeBron James at small forward, 6′ 10,” 253 Anthony Davis at power forward, and the 6′ 11,” 250 lbs Ben Simmons playing small ball center.
Unlike other former Lakers traditional low post centers like JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, or Andre Drummond, opposing teams would not be able to play Ben Simmons off the floor due to his inability to defend the perimeter. Simmons has the potential to be the perfect prototye of a modern defensive small ball center, a player who can block shots and protect the rim and still switch, rotate, and guard smaller guards and wings outside the paint,
We’re seeing traditional, low post centers consistently getting played off the court when opposing teams go small because they lack the quickness and mobility to defend on the perimeter. It even just happened to Rudy Gobert. With three big, athletic, mobile, and versatile front court defenders capable of guarding all five positions on the court in James, Davis, and Simmons, the Lakers could redefine what defense will look like in tomorrow’s NBA.
The idea of converting Simmons from a point guard to a point center is not new but something the Sixers have considered in the past because his size and skillset are better suited for playing point center than point guard. Simmons’ 6′ 11,” 250 lbs body and 7′ 0″ wingspan combined with his speed, quickness, athleticism, mobility, and defensive instincts make him the ideal candidate to be a modern small ball center in the mold of Draymond Green.
More importantly, trading for Ben Simmons would give the Lakers the third superstar they desperately need to keep pace with the Brooklyn Nets’ Superstar Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. That’s something the Lakers’ Rob Pelinka and Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul have probably already discussed in the aftermath of the Lakers’ disappointing first round exit. Three superstars is great insurance against injuries.
Don’t underestimate the influence Rich Paul could have on what happens to Ben Simmons. It’s no secret that Paul and Klutch Sports have worked closely with Rob Pelinka and the LA Lakers to build a championship caliber squad. Rich and Rob worked closely together to orchestrate Anthony Davis’ trade to the Lakers and you can expect them to be looking for a solution that would add another Klutch Sports client to the eight already on the Lakers’ roster.
The big question is whether the Lakers have enough trading chips to make an offer to compete against offers from other teams that could include star players like Gordon Hayward, Kyle Lowry, CJ McCollum, or Zach LaVine? The best offer the Lakers could make could be a package including small forward Kyle Kuzma, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and either point guard Dennnis Schroder or shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker.
Needless to say, trading for Simmons would cost the Lakers bench depth and diversity and leave them with few trading chips left to upgrade their 3-point shooting but it would dramatically upgrade their top ranked defense. Doubling down on defense by going all-in on a small ball center would be the Lakers zigging when every other NBA team is zagging but it would also give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the third superstar to be their best.
The Lakers would still have to scramble to find more accurate and prolific 3-point shooters at both guard positions but trading for Simmons would give them the foundation to become the NBA’s dominant defensive juggernaut.