On December 14, Beijing time, today, The Athletic reporter Shams Charania published a long article updating the rumors in the alliance. Sources revealed that the Knicks, Lakers, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Kings, Pacers, and Cavaliers are interested in Ben Simmons. As soon as the news came out, many Lakers fans were not calm, because once the Lakers wanted to get Simmons through trade, then there must be Wei Shao in the trading chips, although this season's performance of Wei Shao in the Lakers was controversial, but if you really want to use Wei Shao for Simmons, it is actually unreliable.
It is well known that Simmons wants to leave the 76ers, and it is also true that the Lakers want to strengthen, but the question is, is Simmons really suitable for the Lakers? Or is it really worth it to trade Westbrook for Simmons? Obviously inappropriate. The things that Simmons' arrival can bring to the Lakers is basically organizational ability, defense and a certain amount of internal impact, but you will find that these things are actually Westbrook, and Simmons is really stronger than Westbrook at present, that is, defense, Simmons has height and weight advantages, and can defend from the No. 1 position to the No. 4 position, which is incomparable to Westbrook.
But there are three reasons to prove that the Lakers don't need Simmons, and Westbrook is more suitable for the Lakers. First of all, the Lakers' current defense is not bad, and they do not lack defenders. In the last 2 games, the Lakers have not let the opponent score more than 100, in the last game against the Magic, the Lakers in the third quarter let the Magic 23 shots only 2, serious defense of the Lakers is still the top defensive team, the Lakers' defensive efficiency ranks 11th in the league, with the gradual formation of the team system, the Lakers' defense will be more and more outstanding. What they're missing right now is not an outside defender.
Second, Westbrook was better suited to James than Simmons. Many people think that Simmons can give James a good ball, but in fact, Westbrook can also, according to statistics, this season James is shooting the most frequent three-point catch in the last 9 seasons (accounting for 18.4% of the total number of shots), and his shooting rate in these three-pointers is close to 40%. And 39 percent of the three-pointers he hit came from Westbrook's assists. Simply put, Westbrook's pass made James play more easily and shoot a more accurate three-point performance.
Third, Westbrook was more daring than Simmons. The Lakers' defense this season is not bad, but their offense is actually quite bad, so far this season, the Lakers' offensive efficiency can only rank 23rd in the league, and their three-point performance is quite poor, averaging 11.9 three-pointers per game, ranking 18th in the league, averaging 33.4 three-pointers per game, ranking 21st in the league. The Lakers need their players to shoot three-pointers more boldly, although Westbrook is not very accurate, but he still dares to shoot when he should shoot, and recently even increased the frequency of receiving James passes to shoot three-pointers, but Simmons has always been a person who is very resistant to shooting three-pointers, completely unsuitable for the current Lakers.
Fourth, Westbrook is willing to assist James and Thick Brow, but Simmons can't judge. This will be a time bomb, Westbrook this season in the Lakers willing to sacrifice data and status, willing to assist James and thick eyebrows, but Simmons is still very young, he wants to be the team boss, just an Embiid he is not convinced, come to the Lakers, who can guarantee that he is willing to assist James and thick eyebrows?
Based on the above four reasons, the Lakers should not risk replacing Simmons with Westbrook, the Lakers lack players like Simmons, but real 3D shooters, at present, Tucker who is intentional by many teams is the best trading partner, the Lakers can try to trade with Tucker to get a high-quality shooter, as long as they can solve the three-point problem, then the Big Three may really be able to be liberated to the greatest power.