Ben Simmons to the San Antonio Spurs
The trade: Ben Simmons for DeMar DeRozan (sign and trade)
Since being traded to San Antonio, DeMar DeRozan has gone under the radar. He’s gone from being an overrated guy in Toronto who always loses to LeBron James to being an underrated star in San Antonio.
The guy’s been the leader of a young, competitive Spurs team in the stacked Western Conference.
Last season he put up 21.6 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game on 49.5 percent shooting from the field and 88 percent shooting from the foul line.
Through this time in San Antonio, DeRozan has vastly improved as a playmaker and would be a great fit alongside Embiid. I could see Doc Rivers using DeRozan similarly to how the LA Clippers have used Paul George: As a point-forward who has the ability to play off the ball at any time.
The only problem with this trade is why would the Spurs do it. They already have a ton of young guards like Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, and Derrick White.
Well, the Spurs do it because none of those guys have the ceiling that Simmons does.
Plus, like the Pacers, the Spurs aren’t a destination for free agents like they used to be, so the best way to get a star player is to either trade or draft one.