The Golden State Warriors have two available roster spots and an unnamed Western Conference team have offered Ben Simmons a training camp contract, raising speculation that a move to the Bay Area could be on the cards for the fallen star.
Simmons would be a gamble for any team after not playing at all last season and having appeared in just 108 games over the past five years, but his sheer positional versatility is one obvious reason the Warriors can't ignore the idea of adding the three-time All-Star.
Ben Simmons would provide positional versatility Warriors can't ignore
After bringing back the likes of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II, the Warriors will once again enter the season with an older, injury-prone roster that will already be without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody.
That increases the likelihood that Steve Kerr will have to plug holes and rotational gaps on a regular basis, whether it be on the second night of a back-to-back when veterans are resting or the inevitable injuries that will take place during a long season.
This is where Simmons could become valuable if he can find even a slither of what made him so good in Philadelphia over half a decade ago. The Australian's ball-handling and playmaking could allow him to act as a backup point guard for Stephen Curry, yet his 6'10" size and defense would equally allow him to play as a center or point forward as a replacement for Horford, Porzingis or Green.
That's significantly different to looking at a small, kind of one-dimensional guard like Brandon Williams, or a slow-footed, 35-year-old stretch big like Kelly Olynyk who would only play when Porzingis or Horford are out.
Warriors would still have to configure lineups around Ben Simmons
As much as the positional versatility is interesting, it also means nothing if Simmons is continually unavailable himself, or if he can't recapture anything close to meaningful impact as he eyes an NBA return.
The lack of shooting and scoring also takes much away from this idea of positional versatility. Regardless of whether he's playing the point, one of the forward spots or as a small-ball five, Kerr and Golden State would have to ensure there's shooting everywhere at the other four positions. After ranking 20th in 3-point percentage last season, that's not necessarily easy to achieve.
Simmons is a low-risk gamble for a training camp deal, and his positional versatility offers an obvious reason for the Warriors to take the risk in the hopes of reaching somewhere near his former heights.
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