Toronto Raptors: Pros and cons of a trade for Ben Simmons

Does Ben Simmons fit well with the Toronto Raptors?

Simmons is not a fit with the Raptors if he plays as he did with the 76ers. Pace and space is the name of the game for Nurse, and Simmons won’t provide either if Toronto gets the Simmons who choked against Atlanta.

Having said that, Simmons could be transformative for Toronto with even an average game on offense. Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t a good shooter, but the threat of shooting has helped him become even more lethal on that side of the ball, and Simmons could be in for a similar uptick in production if Nurse gets him going.

Ben Simmons is only a fit in Toronto if he gets his confidence back.

Simmons has the potential to anchor Toronto’s defense on the perimeter while becoming such a unique chess piece on the offensive end that the Raptors take their already potent offense to the next level. However, he needs to take this shooting problem, both from the field and at the line, head-on to fix it.

Losing Lowry will hurt, but losing Lowry for nothing would be a punch in the gut. Simmons, however, could give the Raptors some backbone for the next few years, as he still has plenty of good basketball coming down the road.