Joe Lacob Suggests Ben Simmons ‘Doesn't Really Fit' on Warriors

Lacob suggests Simmons 'doesn't really fit' with Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

Ben Simmons has made it clear to the Philadelphia 76ers that he never intends to play for them again, and neither the Warriors nor any of the other 28 NBA teams are going to give up anything close to the Sixers' reported asking price for the three-time All-Star.

Consequently, the Sixers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The current situation is untenable, and in order to change it, they must accept a reality that thus far they've been unwilling to. In theory, that could provide the Warriors -- or any other team -- with additional leverage, in the event the Sixers significantly lowered their asking price. But none of that matters if the Warriors' decision-makers don't want to trade for Simmons.

And based on what Warriors owner Joe Lacob told the San Francisco Chronicle's Rusty Simmons, it doesn't sound like they do.

"In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing," Lacob said, while never referring to Simmons by name so as to avoid tampering. "He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know. He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond [Green]. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another."

Well then, I suppose that's that.

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Simmons will make $33 million in 2021-22, with a salary that increases to $40.3 million in 2024-25. In order to make the math work, any trade in which the Warriors acquired Simmons would mean Green or Andrew Wiggins is headed the other way. The Warriors aren't trading Green, and Wiggins apparently isn't what the 76ers have in mind, not to mention his importance to Golden State's roster.

So, yeah. Don't count on it.

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