Will the Los Angeles Lakers Target Ben Simmons?

Will the Los Angeles Lakers Target Ben Simmons?

Ben Simmons is an enigma. This guy joined the NBA as one of the next great transition players that could fit the mold of the Magic Johnson and LeBron James of the world as he was the number one overall pick, but despite being a highly touted high school prospect, and having some success in his rookie of the year campaign, his NBA career has came to fruition. After a couple serious mishaps with the Philadelphia 76ers from locker room disagreements with Joel Embiid, to disagreements with front office members, Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers, it's clear that Ben Simmons was never going to reach superstar potential, but even after his Philly years, he still had quality NBA player potential.

Simmons was always a phenomenal defender, and even in his later years, he was silly quality, defender, and on the offensive side of the ball, despite the lack of a jumpshot and any floor, spacing ability, he was a consistent transition threat, who could still get to the rim at will, was a phenomenal rebounder and as a passer was of the upper action players.

His size is 6 foot seven and his passing ability will always be valuable and his most recent stint in the NBA was in 2024–25 with the Los Angeles Clippers and he had a couple quality games during that stint. When you look at the future of his career it may seem bleak because he has always had thoughts of retirement due to his back injuries and other injuries, but if there is any team that could possibly take them, I do think that the Los Angeles Lakers would be a good leaning spot.

On the Sitdown w/ Malik Wright show they broke down why the Lakers could be a good landing spot.

Alexy on the show brought up a great point how Simmons's last stint was in Los Angeles and he could simply stay in Los Angeles but switch to the Lakers. The Lakers have built a roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves that has scorers like Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton but they truly lack defense, and that is something that Ben Simmons undoubtedly could provide for them.