For the past few years, the Philadelphia 76ers have been among the most competitive teams in the East. With Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Tobias Harris, the Sixers have an abundance of talent that has allowed them to remain near the top of the standings.
Bt after a disappointing finish in the 2021 playoffs, the Sixers started falling apart from the inside.
Just weeks into the offseason, Ben Simmons made his trade request known to the world, and it kicked off a cold war that is still ongoing today.
Amid the absence of Ben, and all that his team is having to endure, Sixers President Daryl Morey spoke candidly about the whole situation, admitting that it’s highly likely that Ben remains a Sixer past the deadline. He also illustrated why he is practicing patience above all else.
“If [fans] think we’re burning the season away without trading Ben we’re not only burning this season away if we trade Ben for something that makes everyone feel good, we’re also burning away all the other future seasons. So in essence we’re burning way more by doing a marginal trade than if we are patient…
…the one thing we’re in agreement on is we would like a win-win trade. A trade that helps the 76ers, it’s most likely going to help Ben in his mind and what his goals are and we’d like to accomplish that by the February 10 deadline. If we don’t, then I think this foundation that we’ve established, we’ll see if that can help us work through things if there isn’t a trade. Trades are hard to do. It takes two, right? That’s again why I feel the fans frustration like just get a deal done. Well it takes two sides, right? In this case, it’s probably going to take three sides, it’s probably going to take multiple teams, and whenever you’re involving a big trade with multiple teams, the odds of those deals happening are just low and so I think I feel the fans frustration.
They went through so much pain to get Joel Embiid, a great player, to get Tobias Harris, to get Ben Simmons to get this foundation that gave us a real chance last year, which we sort of blew and we should’ve gotten to the conference finals if not farther. I feel that frustration. I know it. They went through so much to get these players together and to have one of them say I’d rather be somewhere else, that sucks. That sucks for everybody, but it’s important that we deal with the reality and like try and maximize from here.”
https://twitter.com/btoporek/status/1484255432457822215
Simmons hasn’t played a single game this season, and he likely won’t come back to the court unless it’s in a different jersey.
Obviously, this puts the Sixers in an interesting position. On one hand, the urgency to compete is high, and fans are feeling uneasy about letting a full season of Joel Embiid’s prime go to waste. On the other hand, waiting for a true star to become available helps set up the 76ers for a brighter future.
So, as crazy as it is that the Sixers are hanging on to Ben, they have the advantage. Simmons is under contract until 2025, and there is no rule that forces the Sixers o trade him anytime soon.
If you’re Daryl Morey, why rush the process?
