Raptors trade rumors: Ben Simmons swap discussed with Nets

The Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets nearly set the NBA world ablaze on Monday night, as Masai Ujiri was reportedly trying to get involved as a third team in the Kyrie Irving deal. Names like Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and Ben Simmons were potentially changing hangs in a flurry of hypothetical, unrealized moves.

One trade that seemed to gain a ton of traction was Toronto sending Fred VanVleet to Brooklyn in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and draft compensation. The Nets weren’t able to get this deal done, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t stop trying to get some blood from the stone Toronto has become.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Nets were trying to acquire Siakam last night, with a package centered around Simmons and multiple first-round picks heading back to Toronto. The Raptors, according to most reports, seem very unwilling to unload Siakam at this time.

Simmons would represent such an immediate downgrade from Siakam that it would almost appear to be more like a salary dump than anything else. The optimistic way to look at this deal would be the fact that Simmons is a truly positionless defender that won’t take shots away from the improving Scottie Barnes.

Toronto Raptors trade rumors: Ben Simmons move discussed.

Simmons remains one of the most confounding players in the NBA. On one hand, he is still the elite defender, rebounder, and passer he always has been. On the other, he is averaging 7.4 points per game while taking fewer than six shots a night and making 44% of his free throws. He seems scared to shoot and score the basketball.

Scotto mentions that the Raptors coveted Nets center Nic Claxton at last season’s deadline. If Ujiri could somehow figure out a way to land Claxton and significant draft capital in any trade with Brooklyn, that would be regarded as one of the savviest moves of the deadline.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks believes that Simmons has “zero trade value” around the league, which is a very sharp deviation from the reports that he could be heading to Toronto as the main piece in a Siakam deal. The last few days before the deadline always have zany reports flying in both directions, and this trade discussion is no exception.

It would take quite a monumental offer for the Raptors even to consider parting ways with Siakam, and Simmons, in his current state, is simply not going to do the trick. That doesn’t mean Ujiri and Sean Marks are done talking, however.