Los Angeles Lakers: How LA can land Ben Simmons in a three-team trade

Why the Los Angeles Lakers say yes to this trade:

I get it, Ben Simmons is not the hottest name in the NBA right now. He melted down at the end of the 76ers’ playoff games, has not shown any willingness to work on his shot in the league and becomes a legitimate issue at the end of games when you need a basket. You shouldn’t be able to hack-a-Shaq against a guard.

However, that is also what happens when he is your second-best player and your first-best player is a center who is known for gassing out at the end of games. Sure, Joel Embiid was good in the playoffs, but it is not like he was great in closing out any of the games against Atlanta either.

There will be far less pressure on Simmons on the Los Angeles Lakers. First of all, he would give the Lakers tremendous size. The rebounding of the Lakers, especially if they bring in a traditional big, would be exceptional.

The defense would be even scarier. Nobody is denying that Simmons is a top-five defensive player in the league and the things they could do with Simmons and Anthony Davis together is legitimately scary.

He would take some of the playmaking burden off of LeBron James in the regular season, which helps LeBron at his age. So what if he only gives you 12-15 a night? The Lakers are going to get 60-65 points from AD and LeBron alone in the playoffs. Add another 15 from Simmons and the Lakers are just fine with getting 75-80 points from their three best players.

Yes, he cannot shoot threes but the Lakers won the 2020 championship without leaning into the three-point ball. Add shooters around them and off the bench and the Lakers will be fine, especially with Davis stretching the floor more.

Rodney Hood is thrown in the trade for monetary reasons and is on an expiring deal. Hood struggled last season but nearly shot 50% from the three-point line the year before. He is not the reason why this trade happens but the Lakers could still get something out of him.

Sure, it stings losing Talen Horton-Tucker, but there are reasons why he is not untouchable this offseason and if you can get Ben Simmons you do it.

It is not often that you can get an all-star-caliber player who is also young. This deal is a no-brainer.