Peril vs. possibility: Should Miami and Heat ‘culture’ risk trying to fix Ben Simmons? | Opinion

This is a delicious dilemma for the Miami Heat, one fraught with peril and possibility.

Ben Simmons.

The Heat should avoid him like the proverbial plague.

The Heat should inquire aggressively about his reported availability.

The case for either polar direction is pretty strong.

I know, I know. Here we go again, right? A prominent NBA player is out there dangling, either in free agency or via trade, and Miami always seems to get sucked into the conversation. There is hardly a rumor whispered that doesn’t somehow involve the Heat.

It is because Pat Riley is a deal-maker loathe to stand pat. He is forever after the next big asset, the next whale making the next splash. Relevance. Another title shot.

Part of it is also because half the fun of the NBA is what’s happening off the court. To most fans, the July 28 draft and the free agency/trade season that follows is more interesting than the Suns-Bucks NBA Finals going on.

In Simmons’ case, Miami is a natural link because of the club’s culture-driven reputation as a place where broken players are repaired. Come to Miami, and be healed by the Heat Way!

Former NBA player Brian Scalabrine of NBC Sports Boston, as an example, recently said, of Simmons, “The Miami Heat could fix him. Erik Spoelstra as a coach could fix Ben Simmons.”

The positives and negatives on Simmons both are huge.

He is a three-time All-Star turning 25 next week. He’s a freak, a 6-11 point guard, a position of need in South Florida. He’s under contract four more years. He made the All-NBA defense first team this season, and Heat culture loves some tenacious D.

The negatives?

Just about everything else.

Simmons has shooting problems that appear to originate between his ears. He averaged only 11.9 points for Philadelphia in the recent playoffs, and shot an historically bad 34.2 percent on free throws. He disappeared offensively.

Simmons attempted only three shots in the fourth quarter the entire seven-game Atlanta series. His confidence was a puddle at his feet. Late in the Sixers’ Game 7 home loss to the Hawks, in a moment that brands him, he gave up a wide-open layup and passed to tightly covered teammate Matisse Thybulle.

Simmons should be an ideal running mate for fellow star Joel Embiid. Instead, they don’t fit. There are reasons why Philly is now out there offering in trade a young three-time All-Star.

Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have their limits offensively. Together they shot only 24.5 percent on threes last season. Miami does not seem the place to add an offensive liability like Simmons.

And there is this: Attitude. What he brings to your locker room.

ESPN NBA insider/sideline reporter Izzy Gutierrez, in the episode of my podcast that was out June 28: “People don’t like Ben Simmons in the league. His teammates don’t like Ben. There’s just something about him. He is an unlikable dude. And in that locker room he’s unlikable. What coach have you covered that you asked him, ‘Can you win a championship with this guy?’ and they answer, ‘I don’t know how to answer that.’ ”

I’m not sure even the most well-chosen Riley parable or Udonis Haslem’s most firebrand pep talk can turn that into the perfect teammate.

But if you could get Simmons for, say, Tyler Herro and a bucket of beach sand ... would you turn that down? I wouldn’t. Too much upside to not absorb the risk.

Bottom line, though: Don’t expect Simmons in Heat clothes. Philly reportedly is seeking an “All-Star caliber” player in return for its damaged goods. And the Sixers most likely would prefer trading him out of the East, with Portland the betting favorite as the early front-runner.

There are plenty of other notables to pursue this summer, led by Damian Lillard if he demands a trade, and Kawhi Leonard if he opts out — although Leonard’s recent ACL knee surgery complicates that one. Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry will be other names out there.

Nobody thinks it can fix broken players like the Miami Heat, but Ben Simmons will be some other team’s rehab project.