The Philadelphia 76ers still find themselves where they began the 2021-22 season when it comes to All-Star Ben Simmons as the NBA trade deadline approaches.
Simmons has remained content staying away from the team despite losing already over $10 million in the process due to being fined by the 76ers repeatedly. As a result, it’s up to Philadelphia to get a trade done in order to avoid continued diminishing returns and potentially wasting a year of Joel Embiid’s prime.
The landscape for a potential Simmons remains unclear since a superstar like Damian Lillard not only remains unavailable in trade talks, but he also appears more likely to get shutdown due to his abdominal injury at some point than to be moved.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Atlanta Hawks are a team to ‘keep an eye on’ as an ’emerging suitor’ to execute a trade to land Ben Simmons in an attempt to bolster their struggling defense.
It was suggested to me this week by one league source to keep an eye on Atlanta as an emerging suitor for Philadelphia’s Simmons. The Hawks awoke Friday at a disappointing 17-20 (good for only 12th place in the East) and ranked 26th in defensive rating.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: What It Will Take For Atlanta Hawks To Land Ben Simmons?
Stein added that Hawks GM Travis Schlenk making comments on 92.9 FM in Atlanta questioning the construction of the roster suggests greater chance of the team potentially shaking things up as the NBA trade deadline nears.
They also just vaulted to the top of the Teams To Watch list at this trade deadline after general manager Travis Schlenk said in a radio interview earlier this week with 92.9 FM in Atlanta that he is openly questioning the wisdom of bringing back the same team after the Hawks’ Cinderella run to last season’s Eastern Conference finals.
Much of the potential intrigue surrounding a potential Simmons addition for the Hawks depends on his willingness to buy-in as a small ball center option. Clint Capela quite simply does not look the same as last season after injury. If Simmons can be a switch-everything defender at the five while adding speed and short-roll playmaking, there’s a lot to like.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: What It Will Take For Atlanta Hawks To Land Ben Simmons?
The Atlanta Hawks do have all of their draft picks along with no shortage of intriguing players to potentially include in a trade offer in talks with the Philadelphia 76ers.
