Back when the Houston Rockets were “in talks” with teams about a potential James Harden trade, the Philadelphia 76ers were one of the teams “highly interested” in the former NBA MVP. However, they were unwilling to part ways with Ben Simmons, thus taking them out of the conversation to land Harden and resulting in the Nets getting a deal done for him instead. 

Now, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves out of the playoffs after losing to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, resulting in them looking back on this potential trade and kicking themselves. Ben Simmons was a liability for Philadelphia at points in the regular season this year, but in the postseason, he turned into a major liability because of his inefficiency on the offensive-end of the court. 

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Here and there, Simmons would drive to the rim and get something going for the Sixers offensively, but at the end of the day, he was always looking to pass before taking a shot, even if that shot was a wide-open dunk! In the playoffs, Ben Simmons shot 59-95 from the floor (62.1%), but he was just 25-73 (34.2%) from the free-throw line. 

Many NBA fans and Philadelphia fans have begun blaming Simmons for the 76ers’ downfall this postseason and as a result, he has been the most talked about player in the league since Philly lost to Atlanta. There has been no word yet on whether or not the 76ers will look to move Ben Simmons in the offseason, but it definitely has to be viewed as a real possibility. 

READ MORE: NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons trade value is ‘plummeting’ with poor playoff showing

Following Game 7’s loss to Atlanta the other night, 76ers’ head coach Doc Rivers was asked numerous questions about Simmons, but the one question that stood out was when he was asked about Simmons’ ability to be a championship-level point guard moving forward. Rivers responded to the question stating, “I don’t have the answer to that right now. You know… I don’t have the answer to that.”

Things are going to be very interesting this offseason for the Philadelphia 76ers and rumors are going to continue to swirl about Ben Simmons’ future with this franchise. The biggest question the Sixers will need to ask themselves this offseason is whether or not they should trade Ben Simmons now before his value drastically declines. Let’s take a look at each side of this case to trade Simmons and take a look at what Philadelphia’s best options are.