The Golden State Warriors’ community has been looking into the thought of a D’Angelo Russell for Ben Simmons swap, but why?
It’s been a tough season for the Golden State Warriors. They’re the worst team in the Western Conference by a large margin and even the return of Stephen Curry in early March won’t be enough to claw Golden State out of the final few spots.
That’s made the Warriors already focus their effort, primarily in trades, towards next season. D’Angelo Russell, among names like Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, has been talked about heavily.
One such idea that’s been thrown around by media is a straight-up Ben Simmons for D’Angelo Russell swap.
While it could be covered up as a win-win, the Warriors shouldn’t want Ben Simmons for one reason: shooting.
If you look at how the Warriors have composed their roster, they typically don’t have multiple non-shooters on the court, allowing for maximum spacing and wider lanes for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. At the same time, they typically play a center that’s not a great perimeter threat.
Players like Kevon Looney, Andrew Bogut, and DeMarcus Cousins have laced the court at the five the last few seasons. That’d leave no room to have a Simmons-like non-shooter at a perimeter position.
That becomes especially true when you look at the startling shooting percentage decreases from Draymond Green over the last few seasons. That’s why they need shooting, and they looked to continue that trend with the signing of Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III.
Well, D’Angelo Russell has that aspect while Simmons does not.
Russell is averaging 23.3 points per game and a fantastic 3.5 triples per game. He spaces the floor, and while he’s not the distributor or defender that Simmons is, he’s every ounce of what Golden State may need to take their team back to a championship contender.
Overall, it’s the three-point shooting and the roster composition that should have the Warriors’ weary of addition Simmons for Russell.