Denver Nuggets: A Ben Simmons trade would be too costly

Just ahead of training camp, everything was going swimmingly for the Denver Nuggets. The team had finalized its roster with the addition of Petr Cornelie and some positive vibes were coming from early team workouts.

But suddenly, Sam Amico of Hoops Wire reported that some suspect the Denver Nuggets to be sleepers in a potential Ben Simmons trade. It comes after months of Simmons trade rumours, requests, and an awkward decision not to report to training camp.

We’ve all read the articles, heard the cases for why Simmons would be an ideal fit on about half the league by now, but with the public trade request, his value is slowly dropping around the league. Is the Sam Amico report a reminder for Nuggets fans to re-visit the topic?

I wrote two months ago (that’s how long this has been going on) that the Nuggets shouldn’t trade for Ben Simmons. Yes, the Australian is an incredible player, an absolute positional anomaly, and a defensive menace, but for what the Nuggets need, he’s not the perfect fit.

At the time, I saw two avenues Denver could go down in trading for Simmons, one would be based around Jamal Murray, sending back one max contract in exchange for the other, while the second trade is about cobbling together salaries to match Ben’s.

To get the money to work in the latter scenario, the Nuggets would have to strip their important depth. The salaries of Aaron Gordon, Monte Morris, and Will Barton would match Simmons’ but with extensions to Gordon and Barton being signed this offseason, both players can’t be moved until three months after signing.

If Simmons isn’t reporting to training camp with the Philadelphia 76ers, he might not be playing games. It’d hardly be worth moving on from these three players for a player who wouldn’t have touched the court at all.

So that means the only true avenue to go down is one for Jamal Murray.

If it’s simply a one-for-one move then the money works and it can get done. Before even getting into the Philly side of the deal, Denver would be giving up their second-best player, one who they drafted and who looks to be comfortable in a Nuggets uniform, for a questionable fit.

The best part about Jamal is that he can play both on or off the ball, perfect for a lead guard next to Nikola Jokic. The two players can play off each other’s strengths and use the gravity each brings to get where they want on the court.

But if you’re reading this, you’re probably a Denver Nuggets fan and you already know this. I’ll stop.

Add Ben Simmons into the mix and you immediately lose the one shooter. A Jokic post up surrounded by four shooters becomes a Jokic post up surrounded by three. Less space to operate and smaller gaps for Jokic to find cutters.

When Simmons is at his best on offense is when he has the ball in his hands and can make solid decisions. Every possession with the ball in Ben’s hands is one where Jokic is off the ball, which can lead to some success. But is it worth trying to integrate that?

Outside of the stars of the court, what does a Simmons-Jokic pairing mean for Monte Morris, Will Barton, and Bones Hyland? They’re three players who are best on-ball, making their own decisions. They also pair well with Jokic (outside of Bones but I’m sure we all expect some fun with those two) but get the benefit of Jokic’s shooting and inside presence. How would these players perform with a little less spacing around them?

The Denver Nuggets don’t skip steps, why start now with Ben Simmons

The mantra that Tim Connelly has had with the Denver Nuggets since he took over as the lead decision-maker is to not skip steps, play the slow game, and build towards an NBA championship.

Before the unfortunate Jamal Murray injury at the end of a regular season game against the Golden State Warriors, the Nuggets were an outside favorite to win the whole thing. If the Nuggets were fully healthy, they likely go on to beat the Phoenix Suns, likely the same against the Kawhi Leonard-less LA Clippers and then it’s a coin flip against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Assuming the Nuggets play it slow with Jamal’s injury, he won’t be back until the 2022-23 season, just over a full calendar year since his injury. The COVID-shortened season means a typical 12-month recovery time isn’t simply the same point in the season as it was before.

We saw how healthy Kevin Durant was after taking more than a 12-month break following his injury in the 2019 NBA Finals. He looked just as good, possibly better, in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets, and he’s on the wrong side of 30, Jamal is in his mid-20s.

At the start of the 2022-23 season, Jokic will be 27-years-old, Jamal 25, Michael Porter Jr. 24, and AG 26. That core should be healthy and in their athletic peaks. Trading for Ben Simmons just adds question marks that unnecessarily complicate things.

Yes, he’s an amazing defensive player and offensive hub all to himself, but the Nuggets already have their MVP and offensive hub, it’s not worth the price of admission.