With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching, some people believed a resolution could be coming soon between the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons. Nothing has changed, as the two sides met recently and both are sticking by their original stances.
Simmons and his camp want a trade to get done. Daryl Morey isn’t opposed to making a deal but has very specific demands of what he wants in a return package. If he isn’t receiving exactly what he wants, he isn’t interested in making a deal.
The longer this has gone on, the more information has leaked out. From the sounds of it, Morey is holding out to acquire James Harden this offseason. There are a lot of people that believe Harden will be moving on from the Brooklyn Nets this offseason and that the Philadelphia 76ers are where he will ultimately end up.
A sign-and-trade deal that involves Ben Simmons is the likeliest avenue for Philadelphia to take to land Harden. It would be hard to imagine that Morey would waste a prime year of Joel Embiid holding out hope to get Harden in a deal, but that seems to be what he is hoping will occur.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest NBA Trade Intel Surrounding Sixers, Ben Simmons
As for Simmons, he and his camp are hoping a resolution comes much sooner than that. While there have been plenty of teams engaged in trade rumors centered around Simmons, two have emerged; the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.
Bleacher Report shared the update, as the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks are the primary teams engaged in trade talks. However, it sounds like Sacramento could have the edge in trade talks.
For Simmons to be dealt now, as his camp clearly hopes will materialize, Philadelphia has remained primarily engaged with Atlanta and Sacramento of late, league sources confirmed to B/R. The Sacramento Kings have shown a willingness to take back Tobias Harris’ contract in addition to Simmons. The Atlanta Hawks, however, are uninterested in acquiring Harris in order to land Simmons at this time and have been searching for a third team to function as a trade partner, sources told B/R.
Attaching Tobias Harris to Ben Simmons in a trade is nearly $80 million in salary. There aren’t many teams that would be willing to take on that kind of salary, but the Kings, desperate to snap their 15-year playoff drought, will do anything to upgrade the roster.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest NBA Trade Intel Surrounding Sixers, Ben Simmons
They have some pieces that would be good pickups for the Philadelphia 76ers as they look to contend in the Eastern Conference. Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III and Harrison Barnes are players that could be used to help match salary. De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton could be the centerpiece of the deal.
If the Atlanta Hawks are unwilling to take on Harris, they seem like a long shot to acquire Ben Simmons before the deadline. Atlanta has some intriguing young pieces, such as John Collins, but it is unlikely he is on the 76ers’ list of impact players they are hoping to land in exchange for Simmons.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest NBA Trade Intel Surrounding Sixers, Ben Simmons
Unless their stance on taking on Harris changes, as the Philadelphia 76ers would likely lower their asking price moving all of that salary, the Kings are seemingly in the driver’s seat to end this saga.
