Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of trading for Ben Simmons
Detroit Pistons: Ben Simmons fit in Detroit-Part 1
Pro: Ben Simmons’ skill set would make him beloved in Detroit, as we like defense and he can play it as well as anyone in the NBA. Simmons is a Draymond Green-type defender who can guard 1-5 and would make everyone on the team better on that end.
The Detroit Pistons had a top-10 defense last year and with Simmons they could vault into the top-5 and when you consider that all of the Conference Finalists from last season were elite defensive teams, it makes sense to try to get there and worry about offense later.
Related Story. The Pistons will have a huge advantage next offseason. light
Simmons is essentially a much-better Killian Hayes, a guy who can pass and defend but not shoot, so if you are going to try and make it work with Hayes, then surely Simmons would be an even better fit.
Con: The Detroit Pistons were already a poor shooting team last season and adding Simmons would not help. It’s possible that his inability to stretch a defense would hinder Cade Cunningham, who will need space to operate with the ball.
Of course, if Cunningham is as good a shooter as we think he’s going to be, then he could be the one creating space for Simmons, who can then do more of his damage from the post. But right now, Simmons doesn’t have a great post game and he can’t shoot a jumper, so he is more or less just taking up space on offense when he doesn’t have the ball.
I do think Simmons would take some of the pressure off Cade Cunningham and turn him into more of a scorer than a passer, which could be good or bad depending on how you see his future. All the same things people say about Simmons are also true of Draymond Green, so if Simmons embraced that role as a “do everything” defender and playmaker as Green has, then he is a fit on any team that has scorers.
The question is whether the Detroit Pistons have the guys to put around him. They don’t have the Splash Brothers drawing defenses to the perimeter, so could Simmons really morph into Green? Does he want to? I think this fit comes down to whether Simmons is ready to admit that he is more of a Draymond Green than a LeBron James.
Verdict: Hmmmm, maybe not