The Philadelphia 76ers have been trying to trade disgruntled star Ben Simmons since the end of last season.
Unfortunately, despite all parties involved desperately seeking a change, a trade has yet to materialize.
The Sixers have made their asking price for Simmons clear, but thus far nobody has stepped up to meet it. And because he is refusing to play for Philly any further (costing himself a lot of money in the process), teams are left with the lasting image of his postseason failures from 2021 fresh in their minds.
Not exactly a recipe for encouraging anyone to step up their offer.
Obviously Simmons isn’t particularly thrilled with how things have gone, but he isn’t alone in that regard.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, other NBA team executives are also quite frustrated with how things have progressed up to this point.
“Still, sources say the Sixers — who have been on the lookout for an All-Star in return for Simmons for so long now — have continued to ask for a massive haul in return while frustrating some suitors along the way,” he wrote.
“As such, some team executives remain convinced that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is still waiting for Portland’s Damian Lillard or Washington’s Bradley Beal to be made available down the line (i.e. this summer at the earliest).”
None of this should come as a surprise. The Golden State Warriors hung up on the Sixers when they heard what was being demanded in a potential Simmons trade.
Clearly Philly wants a lot more than teams are willing to give – hence nothing getting done all these months in.
Jusuf Nurkic sends an ominous message to Tyler Herro. https://t.co/Up1bwVyie9
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 6, 2022
One way or another, something is going to have to give. Either Morey will need to reduce his asking price, or a team that truly wants Simmons will need to step up and overpay to get him.
Which option will ultimately come to fruition? Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
