The Ben Simmons saga continues in Philadelphia and every day we learn more details about his potential exit from the squad. The Australian playmaker is yet to play a game for the team this season after his collapse against the Atlanta Hawks last season and the mental health issues he’s struggled with following that moment.
Right now, several teams are linked with the point guard, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Still, none of those teams have the assets to convince the Sixers or simply don’t want to part with their figures, which makes things more complex for everybody.
In recent days, teams like the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks have joined the list of Simmons’ sweepstakes, but nothing has changed for the 76ers. According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, these teams don’t have the players that can unlock negotiations with Philly.
“Right now, you look at Philadelphia and the kind of players available to them in a Ben Simmons trade: Harrison Barnes in Sacramento, Domantas Sabonis in Indiana, John Collins in Atlanta,” Wojnarowski said. “That’s not gonna move the needle at this point for Ben Simmons — especially positionally with those players, power forwards. For Philly, it doesn’t make any sense, hypothetically, if they took any of those guys on in big deals, and to still have Tobias Harris on your roster, at the same position, making closer to $40 million a year over the following two seasons.
“So unless they can expand the deal, make it bigger, listen, Atlanta is not taking Tobias Harris back in a deal for Ben Simmons,” he continued. “Could they route Tobias Harris somewhere else? Listen, it is a lot of money on his contract. Right now, Philadelphia continues to be content to wait, and their philosophy all along has been if we get a trade package back that doesn’t make us a championship contender, doesn’t get us back to that level that we felt we were with Ben Simmons, we’re not doing it. I think even with a month to the deadline, there’s a real chance this goes on beyond the deadline.”
Philadelphia reportedly has a 30-man list of the players they could trade Ben Simmons for. James Harden, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal reportedly top this list, and Barnes, Sabonis, and Collins aren’t near their level. They want to pair Joel Embiid with a player that keeps their championship contender status and these three won’t do the job for them.
Simmons is said to be ready to play in a couple of weeks if he gets to work. If teams give him a chance, we could see the Australian shining in the league again, but time will tell how the situation develops.
