NBA Rumors: Miami Heat Hint At Ben Simmons Trade; Hassan Whiteside Loses Goran Dragic For 'Mini-LeBron James'

By Mitch de Leon
2016 NBA Draft
New York, NY, USA; Ben Simmons (LSU) reacts as he walks off stage after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat are now in a panic following the surprise exit of Dwyane Wade to the Chicago Bulls. With two of the Big Three out of the roster, as LeBron James is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Wade signed up for the Jimmy Butler squad, the Hassan Whiteside squad is running of options. That is, the Miami Heat appears to have been pushed to enter their rebuilding phase earlier than planned. However, Pat Riley is never one to allow his team to sink at the bottom as reports now claim that a Ben Simmons trade to the Miami Heat is in the works.

The Philadelphia 76ers just signed the Australia rookie in the 2016 NBA Draft. While this could prove to be a promising move for the Joel Embiid squad, analysts believe that the team can only build around one superstar. Given the performance of Jahlil Okafor last NBA season, it looks like the second-year center proved to be the right superstar to carry the Philadelphia 76ers - a role enjoyed by draft batchmates Karl Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, D'Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks and Emmanuel Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets.

So where does this put newly minted Sixers star Ben Simmons? Rumors are rife that the Philadelphia team worked hard to draft him to be able to use the rookie as a valuable trade chip in the league. If sources are to be believed, then the NBA star the Philadelphia 76ers have their sights on is Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat.

While the trade is far from confirmed, the entry of Simmons into the Miami Heat roster sounds reasonable if Riley wants to recreate his glory years. Gathering praises in the summer league, the rookie is now hot commodity in the market and could potentially attract other NBA stars looking to start fresh somewhere.

"He's [Ben Simmons] like a mini-LeBron," said Denzel Valentine of the Chicago Bulls. The Jimmy Butler team's 14th overall pick further noted, "LeBron's probably top 10, so if he's a mini-LeBron, that's saying a lot."

Although being compared to the iconic LeBron James is definitely putting Simmons on top of the league rookies, it looks like the Philadelphia 76ers star wants the comparisons to stop. According to the Australian player, he wants to be known for his own style and not for mimicking other NBA stars' strategies. However, Simmons does admit that he takes some of his plays after the moves of the older stars in the league.

"I play like Ben Simmons," said Simmons. He added, "I try not to compare myself to other players. There are guys where I try to take parts of their games and put 'em to mine. So ... it happens."

What do you think? Should the Miami Heat try to strike a deal to put together a Ben Simmons trade? Will the Philadelphia 76ers rookie mesh well with now Miami Heat leader Hassan Whiteside?

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