5 increasingly crazy trades Mavericks could make for a starting center

2. Ben Simmons

Alright, we have officially entered the realm of completely crazy. Ben Simmons hasn’t even been able to stay on the court. But that’s why he could be the perfect piece to take a chance on for cheap.

In theory, Simmons would be a perfect center for the Mavericks, who have two offensively-dominant point guards leading the way. His defensive presence and interior finishing would be perfect at the five.

The obvious downside is that Simmons is never guaranteed to be on the floor. That being said, getting Royce O’Neale and two seconds in the trade would be a huge win for Dallas.

The Brooklyn Nets would rid themselves of Simmons with this deal, adding some rotational pieces and future trade assets in the deal while also adding Christian Wood via sign-and-trade.

Breaking up Simmons’ salary into a bunch of smaller, tradable deals would be ideal for Brooklyn should they no longer be entered into the Damian Lillard sweepstakes.

This would give them a lot more flexibility to build out their roster over the course of the next two seasons. At the cost of two seconds and an expiring deal, this trade could be a decent return for Brooklyn, too.

That being said, it’s number two on the crazy scale for a reason. The Mavericks are almost certainly going to target win-now help that will definitely be on the court over a mystery in Simmons. (Even though it makes sense in theory.)

Potential starting lineups

Mavericks: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Royce O’Neale, Ben Simmons

Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nicolas Claxton