WARRIORSTALK

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Exploring Ben Simmons’ Potential Chemistry With Draymond Green in Golden State

Apparently, Ben Simmons has not been feeling the Brotherly Love.

Things in Philadelphia have gotten so Rocky he reportedly has told the 76ers’ leadership he wants out and will not report to the team’s training camp.

Now, it seems the point forward and 2016 No. 1 overall pick is California Dreamin’.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, after months of trying to shop Simmons around, the team and the Australian national have reached an irreconcilable impasse with Simmons’ preference now to be traded to one of “three California teams”.

This includes the team which bears the state’s nickname as its moniker, as Golden State has been linked to Simmons for months on end. The problem is, as NBC Sports’ Monte Poole points out, the Warriors already have a versatile, lengthy and pass-first frontcourt player who doubles as an elite defender, making Simmons’ potential fit with the team redundant.

“According to league sources, any interest the Warriors might have in Simmons is conditional,” Poole wrote in his piece published Tuesday. “In short, they’re not that interested as long as Draymond Green is on the roster.”

Poole pointed out Green has not made his relationship better with Golden State’s front office as of late, largely placing the blame for the end of Kevin Durant’s tenure with the Warriors on Steve Kerr and Bob Myers’ mishandling of Durant and Green’s infamous Staples Center strife. But this does not mean Green will be dealt any time soon.

However, as NBC Sports’ Kendra Andrews pointed out in an episode of the DubsTalk podcast, discussions around dealing Green to Philadelphia have never really occurred, meaning a potential coexistence – which Golden State’s brass views as not ideal – with Simmons and Green on the court would be the only way to get Simmons from the shores of the Delaware River to those of the San Francisco Bay.

“The 76ers reached out to the Warriors a bit ago, said ‘We’ll give you Simmons for Andrew Wiggins, the hypothetical picks at that point, two future picks (and) James Wiseman’, and the Warriors pretty much laughed in their face,” Andrews said. “Now, conversations are reemerging.”

But in Poole’s mind, a trade for Simmons could still create problems on the court. Golden State’s best defensive lineup in the upcoming season would likely include Green with Kevon Looney playing at the true center position, but that could make Simmons the odd man out when it comes to the other side of the ball.

“You hear that the Warriors are divided on Simmons … which they are,” Poole said. “I get the intrigue because Ben is a really great player who can’t shoot. But, he can do everything else, and I think what’s happened is that people are saying ‘Well, how are you going to put Ben out there with Draymond because Draymond won’t shoot, Ben won’t shoot.’ And my thing is that, well, they have Looney out there with Draymond all the time and it’s one of their best lineups, and it’s not that Looney won’t shoot but he rarely does.”

Yet, Poole thinks the continuity could still be there, which makes sense. Green is the ultimate winner in terms of adjusting his playing style to try to capture the common goal, and Simmons could likely turn into the same kind of player in a new environment surrounded by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Green.

If you think hard enough, a peaceful and productive union with Simmons and Green is possible. In a small-ball lineup, Green could run the point from the center position, deferring to Simmons as a passer out of the post with Thompson and Curry capturing defenders’ attentions on the wings and leaving Wiggins free to slash.

The sticking point, however, as Simmons could become even more desperate to leave Philadelphia as the Sixers are more eager to deal him, is that much of the supporting cast of young players, including Wiggins, would not be part of the equation but rather part of a trade.

“It sounds to me like (the Warriors) are really invested in their youngsters, Wiseman, Moody, Kuminga, and if you’re going to get Ben Simmons, you’re not going to be able to keep all three of those guys,” Poole said. “Would you trade Wiggins and Simmons one for one? I would really think about that one.”