Less than 24 hours ago, most people thought that James Harden was seconds away from being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle, and draft compensation. Then, all of a sudden, the Brooklyn Nets swooped in.
For months, analysts and fans thought that Daryl Morey was going to break up the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons duo and bring back his beloved pupil from the Houston Rockets. And, apparently, even Simmons himself thought that he was going to be shipped to Texas.
According to a report by Marc Spears of ESPN, Ben Simmons was incredibly happy not to be traded to the Rockets, as Doc Rivers trusts him and thinks that they can win a ring with him and Joel:
“Hearing Ben Simmons was pretty ecstatic to not be traded from the Sixers to Houston for James Harden and believes his team is capable of bringing a title to Philadelphia. Doc Rivers is also a huge fan of Simmons and believes the best is yet to come with two-time NBA All-Star,” Spears reported.
Hearing Ben Simmons was pretty ecstatic to not be traded from the Sixers to Houston for James Harden and believes his team is capable of bringing a title to Philadelphia. Doc Rivers is also a huge fan of Simmons and believes the best is yet to come with two-time NBA All-Star.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 13, 2021
The Philadelphia 76ers have won 8 of their 12 first games of the season despite being quite shorthanded lately with injuries and Covid-19 contact tracing, and it’s clear that they’ll only go as far as Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can lead them.
Simmons is yet to develop a consistent jumper, which may expose him once again in the playoffs. However, there’s no denying his talent as a defensive specialist and one of the best pure playmakers in the Association.
