The NBA trade deadline continues to approach and the Philadelphia 76ers still have four-times All-Star Ben Simmons as a member of the roster. He hasn’t played in a single game during the 2021-22 season and remains far away from doing so.
Based on the latest report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it almost sounds as though there’s a greater chance that Simmons doesn’t play at all in 2021-22 than there is chance of him playing at all.
Wojnarowski reported about a meeting between Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, and the Philadelphia 76ers management to discuss where each side stands over the ‘stalemate.’
With the NBA trade deadline a month away, Ben Simmons’ agent — Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — met with Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manager Elton Brand on Wednesday, and the sides remain at a stalemate over the All-Star guard’s immediate future, sources told ESPN.
The one conclusion that was reached was that both sides came away with the understanding that nothing is going to be getting done anytime soon. Simmons still remains away from the team despite their desire to get him back on the floor while the team is nowhere near getting a trade completed.
Simmons is no closer to honoring the team’s hopes for a return to the court this season — and the Sixers’ steep asking price has brought Simmons no closer to a potential trade, sources told ESPN.
With how long it’s been since Ben Simmons has appeared in an NBA game, it would require a real ramp up period before he can be a consistently high minutes player once again. The ‘mental hurdles’ that he faces were brought up by Paul in the meeting that ‘preclude him from a return to play with the team.’
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Simmons is under contract through the 2024-25 season in part of the five-year, $177 million contract that he signed not too long ago. It has already been a costly endeavor for him to continue to sacrifice his game checks. There has been reporting that Philadelphia recently stopped fining Simmons, but perhaps that was more of a tactic leading up to the lunch meeting.
For a potential trade suitor that is seeking to acquire Simmons with the hope of solidifying either their playoff or title contention chances, there are concerns about him needing ‘weeks’ to ramp up and be able to play. There wouldn’t be enough time for him to meaningfully impact a playoff push for most teams—further complicating the scenario.
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Factor in how teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, and Sacramento Kings each would have overlap in the frontcourt with a trade return given how Tobias Harris slots in at the four. Players like Domantas Sabonis, John Collins, and Harrison Barnes would conflict.
