There is a new wrinkle in the ongoing saga between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers.
After a lot of recent chatter about how things between Simmons and Philly were on the verge of getting ugly, two teams stepped forward with legitimate trade proposals. Both were immediately rejected.
One of those teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves, is still viewed as arguably the likeliest eventual landing spot for Simmons – presuming some wrinkles can be worked out.
During a recent interview John Krawczynski of The Athletic revealed where both the Sixers and Timberwolves stand in regards to a prospective deal.
“They want a premium for (Simmons),” Krawczynski said. “Someone that can help them right away. But the Timberwolves don’t want to trade Anthony Edwards or Karl-Anthony Towns. Those are those are deal-breakers. And they really would rather not trade D’Angelo Russell.”
This is a notable shift from Minnesota’s previous position, when the front office seemed pretty steadfast in a general refusal to include Russell in any trade.
A big reason the Timberwolves initially acquired Russell was because of his close ties to Towns. Has that relationship changed? Or have Russell’s off-season proclivities with his new girlfriend made things somehow different?
Fans noticed something behind Tom Brady. https://t.co/pLe1Fy77TT
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 13, 2021
Either way, Simmons looks no closer to getting dealt this week than he did last. There have been some casual murmurs about a massive 4-team deal involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, but it remains to be seen how viable that actually is.
At the moment, however, all signs currently point to Simmons starting the 2021-22 season as a member of the 76ers.
Related: Marc Gasol’s 1 Big Problem With Lakers That Led To Exit
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
