The Detroit Pistons should trade for Ben Simmons! No.

Less than two minutes after the 76ers lost their game seven to the Hawks I saw the first Tweet suggesting the Detroit Pistons should trade for Ben Simmons.

This was expected, as Simmons had a bad series that many think will spell the end of “The Process” once and for all. The pairing of Joel Embiid and Simmons appears to be doomed.

I should start by saying that I am not nearly as down on Ben Simmons as some other people. He’s an elite defender, one of the best in the NBA, and can’t shoot. We’ve seen this before in Detroit with a guy called Ben Wallace, who was just inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Simmons can absolutely be a difference maker on the right team but that team is not the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons don’t have the pieces to complement Ben Simmons

For Ben Simmons to be successful, he needs to be paired with an elite offensive player at guard. Simmons’ ideal partner would be someone like Damian Lillard, a guy who can carry the scoring load while Simmons does the things he is very good at, which are rebounding, defense and making plays.

The Detroit Pistons don’t currently have anyone even close to good enough on offense to pair with Ben Simmons. They might have a great defense but they’d be scoring 80 points a game, which isn’t a recipe for success in today’s game.

The Pistons already had the 10th best defense in terms of points allowed per game, so they don’t need defenders, they need offense, which they are hoping to find in this NBA Draft.

Detroit Pistons: Ben Simmons makes way too much money

If Philly does want to trade Ben Simmons, that contract isn’t going to be easy to move. Simmons is due $31, 33, 36 and 38 million over the next four seasons, so if you trade for Simmons, you are building your team around him.

If we’ve learned one thing from his time in Philly it’s that Ben Simmons is not an easy guy to build a team around. A point guard who can’t, and sometimes won’t, shoot the ball cannot be the highest paid player on your team.

If the Pistons were to trade for Ben Simmons (THEY WON’T!! THEY AREN’T!!) they’d be making him the centerpiece of their rebuild. Pass.

Part of me loves the idea of just doubling down on defense, putting out a versatile team that can defend anyone, but these playoffs have shown that offense beats good defense every time. You have to be able to get stops, but if you can’t score, it doesn’t much matter.

Simmons will probably end up traded to a team with a bad contract and a need for a fresh start, but that team is definitely not the Detroit Pistons, so let’s just end that speculation right now.