Now is the time for the offseason where rumors go flying all over the place. There are three teams still left standing in the NBA Playoffs, but for the other 27 teams, now is the time to begin retooling for the future.
The Philadelphia 76ers are one of those teams as they are looking to bounce back from a disappointing Game 7 home loss in the Eastern semifinals. The loss showed off some flaws and there are some things that Philadelphia still needs to address.
One of them is the Ben Simmons question as they either need to work with him and hope he can finally show off some offensive progression or they can move him and hope that he can bring in an upgrade.
According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Sixers are hoping for the opportunity to land Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard. While O’Connor was breaking down the offseason for the Los Angeles Clippers and what they can do to help Kawhi Leonard, he mentioned Simmons as a possibility for the Clippers but reported that ultimately, Philadelphia’s focus is on Lillard.
O’Connor on Simmons:
There’s also Ben Simmons, the Sixers All-Star who spends nearly all of his off time in Los Angeles and would add a much-needed playmaking dimension to the Clippers. But regardless of the other pieces involved in a potential deal, would Leonard want to team up with Simmons after the latter’s disastrous postseason? Is that a deal the Sixers would want to make, when league sources say they’re also hoping for an opportunity to land Lillard?
It would be tough for the Sixers to land a guy like Lillard as they would have to give up Simmons and more in order to get the deal done, but a Lillard and Joel Embiid pairing puts them at the top of the East in terms of title contention. Lillard is ready to win now and if things go sour in Portland, the Sixers will swoop in with a trade offer for him.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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