Why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this trade:
Yes, Ben Simmons has his issues and I completely understand why any fan would hesitate in cheering for him to be a Laker next season and beyond. However, he still has a lot of potential and can help the Lakers a lot more than Russell Westbrook can.
The Lakers are not going to sniff the NBA Finals with Russell Westbrook on the roster. However, if Simmons can come back and be the same player that he was prior to the 2021-22 season then the Lakers could absolutely win the NBA Championship.
Sure, the floor spacing is still not great with Simmons, LeBron James and Anthony Davis but the Lakers would have so much size and defense that they can just stick two three-point shooters like Malik Monk with another guard/forward shooter and be just fine.
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Just imagine the defensive ceiling of this team with Simmons and Davis controlling both the perimeter and the paint. Add LeBron into the mix, who is wanting to do less of the heavy lifting and more of the shooting at this point in his career, and this is a great fit.
Sure, the Lakers trade a first-round pick as well as a pick swap the following year (to follow the Steipen Rule) but they should be willing to do that to pivot from one year of Westbrook to multiple years of Simmons.
If this deal can be done with just one first-round pick then that would be even better for the Lakers. Regardless, the team undoubtedly gets better and saves over $11 million against the cap in the process.