Ben Simmons to the Suns?

Could this be the perfect time for the Suns to pounce and add a 2nd All-Star to the team?

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Another Ben Simmons trade piece?!" but please hear me out on this one.

Earlier this year Bleacher Report ridiculously suggested that the Suns and 76ers could trade their two young stars, for each other. Yes fantastic deal, for Philly.

If you have been anywhere near this Suns team, you know that Devin Booker is not going anywhere, anytime soon.

So why am I bringing a Ben Simmons to Suns scenario again and why now?

As per Woj's report:

If you know anything about Daryl Morey's tenure in Houston, it'll be that all his decision making is based on analytics. These analytics are the reason the Rockets traded away 7ft center Clint Capela at this year's trade deadline, leading to 6ft6 PJ Tucker (we miss you PJ!) playing center. Oh, and of course the record breaking amount of 3 pointers Houston have taken in that time.

You may also know a thing or two about Ben Simmons, one of which is he isn't exactly known for his shooting ability from long range. In fact he only has two career 3 point field goals made.

This graphic has been doing the rounds on Twitter since Woj's tweet yesterday:

Daryl Morey running a team and Ben Simmons being on said team don't seem to go hand in hand.

Despite the lack of 3 point shooting, Simmons is a fantastic player. He averaged 16.4 points, 8 assists and 7.8 rebounds for the 76ers last season, shooting 58% from the field. He is a 2x All-Star and made the All-Defensive 1st Team and All-NBA 3rd Team this past season.

Will Daryl Morey breakup the star duo of Simmons and Embiid or will he find a way to get rid of the huge salaries of Horford & Harris?

These two players have no trade value thanks to these salaries and the disappointing year they've had in Philly after signing their contracts.

Trading Ben Simmons may be their only option and this is where the Suns can get involved.

Phoenix have been looking to add a second star to the team ever since Booker's emergence as the team's franchise player in the latter half of his rookie season. We have Deandre Ayton, however the jury is still out on whether he will develop in to the second star that the team needs.

I personally believe he will become the star we hope for, but he still needs a bit more time to develop.

How might the trade work?

I jumped on the trade machine and produced the following. I tried to make it as fair as possible to both sides:

Kelly Oubre Jr is unfortunately always at the centre of all Suns trades at the moment. He is a great player and a fan favourite, but his attractive contract (1 year, $14 million remaining) makes his trade value second among Suns players behind only Devin Booker.

With Kelly set to become an unrestriced free agent at season's end, the 76ers would also want one of our young and promising wings to be included in any deal. I have Cam Johnson in this scenario, as I feel that Mikal Bridges' long term future projects to be more important to the team. Their salaries are almost identical, so you can swap out either of the two (your preference).

Oubre & Johnson or Bridges are the exact types of players that Morey has targeted over the last few years in Houston, which is why I think this trade idea has potential.

Of course there's the Suns's first round picks. No All-Star player ever gets traded without the passing of draft picks, so there they are.

Finally, going to the Suns is also Mike Scott, he's a salary throw-in here, but he is a tough, mobile, 3 point shooting forward who could replace Dario Saric, if he tenders too much money in restricted free-agency.

Why will Simmons work in Phoenix, when he hasn't in Philly?

Part of the reason that teams were able to leave Simmons alone out on the 3 point line, is that Philly didn't have enough reliable shooters that Ben could pass to and make defences pay.

For some reason, even though they know Simmons likes to drive to the hoop regularly, the 76ers decided to sign low post presence Al Horford to go alongside All-Star center Joel Embiid. This clogged up the lane at times, stopping Simmons getting to the hoop.

Simmons will not have either of these problems in Phoenix. Yes we would inevitably lose a shooter or two in the potential trade, but even so, with Ayton now shooting 3's we will still have more shooters than Philly had.

With only one dominant big on the Suns, Simmons will have no problem getting to the rim on offense.

Having Booker and Rubio on the floor alongside Simmons, will ease the ball handle duties for all three players, allowing them to focus on other areas of their game.

Simmons also gives us a boost on the defensive end if we were able to keep hold of Mikal Bridges in this trade.

To get anywhere in the West over the next couple of years, it seems as though teams will be going through LA at some point. Imagine having one of Simmons and Bridges always available to guard Lebron, Kawhi Leonard or Luka Doncic.

Sixers fans might hate this idea, but as a Suns fan I'm salivating at the idea right now. This move would shoot us up the Western Conference standings, making us a sure fire playoff team again.