NBA Trade Rumors: Heat, Raptors, Wizards favorites to land Ben Simmons?

NBA Trade Rumors: Three teams that are considered favorites to land Ben Simmons this offseason. 

One big-name player that many around the league believe will be traded at some point this offseason is Ben Simmons. He’s had his ups and downs with the Philadelphia 76ers and it appears that the two sides could be nearing a divorce.

It’s a deal that is widely expected to take place at some point over the next few weeks and it will just depend on when Philly finds a deal that is of their liking. You’d have to imagine that the Sixers will be looking for an all-star caliber player in exchange or a trough of first-round picks so that they could potentially use that in pursuit of another all-star.

Either way, any team that has any hopes of landing Simmons should be under the assumption that it’s going to be a costly move. While there will be plenty of teams interested in acquiring Simmons, I’m not sure many teams who be as willing to part ways with what it will take to land the 25-year-old talent.

But according to a recent report, there appear to be three teams that have been identified as potential landing spots: The Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards.

Which team will offer up the biggest package for Ben Simmons?

Ultimately, what this bidding war will come down to is who each team has to offer Sixers. In other words, which of these teams has a player that could help Philadelphia win a championship next season?

Looking objectively, you’d have to lean between the Wizards and Raptors. Short of the Heat including Jimmy Butler in a potential deal, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Sixers – unless they really, really like Duncan Robinson and Tyer Herro. That seems unlikely, however.

The Wizards could offer Bradley Beal if they’re serious about hitting the reset button, but even that seems unlikely at the moment. Or perhaps the Sixers would be willing to pull the trigger on Russell Westbrook and some other young, promising pieces? We’ve seen stranger things.

That leads to the Raptors, who might be the perfect spot for Simmons. Toronto also has two all-star caliber players that perhaps the Sixers would be willing to take. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are two players that could be involved in a deal, in addition to a talented up-and-coming wing OG Anunoby.

Also, the Raptors have the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. I’m not saying Toronto would be willing to part ways with everything but they have some really good assets to operate with.

The Sixers have some options heading into the offseason and it seems like a foregone conclusion that Simmons will be on a new team at the start of next season. The question is, where will that be?