What the Philadelphia 76ers are looking for

Philadelphia has tried to trade Ben Simmons all offseason long and they have failed in doing so, which has led to Simmons holding out to this point. The new season starts in a week and the 76ers are looking like they will be a man down to begin the season, which is not good news for them. 

There is no reason why the Sixers cannot still contend for a title, but at the same time, almost every other team in the Eastern Conference got better in the offseason. Philadelphia is not in a better spot than Brooklyn nor Milwaukee right now and teams like Miami, New York, and Atlanta have closed the gap in terms of being a contender. 

It is not crazy to believe that without Ben Simmons and without making a trade, the 76ers are nothing more than a mid-tier playoff team now in the Eastern Conference, which is why they need to do something.

Seeing as Simmons no longer wants to play for them, they are going to have to trade him at some point and they could potentially get a handful of value from the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

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Kevin Love’s contract is similar to the one the 76ers got out of with Al Horford a few years back, but his championship experience is definitely valuable to a team with minimal playoff expertise.

Love knows what it takes to win and there’s no reason why he cannot be a key secondary option in their frontcourt. As for Collin Sexton, he is the prized possession in this deal. 

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Simmons gets the checkmark for defense over Sexton, but the Cavaliers’ guard is a much better scorer and offensive threat than the 76ers’ All-Star, which is why Philadelphia benefits from making this trade. They need guys who can score and Ben Simmons has never been able to do that for the Sixers.