The Philadelphia 76ers are still looking to figure out what to do in this Ben Simmons situation as they continue to move forward with the 2021-22 season. They have to decide whether they want to try and mend the fences or they try and still acquire a top 25 player for him in any deal.
The Sixers have maintained that their asking price for Simmons is high and that will still be the case as this whole situation plays out, but it is getting to the point that maybe they won’t be able to get exactly what they want for him.
The Sixers have been holding out in hopes of acquiring Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal, but it does look like that those two players are unattainable at the moment. As the Feb. 10 trade deadline draws closer, now is the time for teams to make a move and the Sixers are expected to be active in a Simmons deal.
Per Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sacramento Kings are a team that has a definite interest in acquiring Simmons that they are even making De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton available after they said those two were not options to be moved.
Per Amick:
And while the Kings would prefer to keep building around De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, their strong appetite to improve means that no player is off the table in terms of potential talks.
Wherever there’s an impact player who can be had, in other words, they’ll be exploring the possibilities. And yes, as you likely wondered, that includes Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons.
While I reported in early September that a Kings-Simmons was looking very unlikely, that was long before team officials had a chance to see nearly half a season’s worth of (mostly subpar) play. Sacramento’s interest is definitely there.
While Fox has a questionable fit next to a guy like Joel Embiid, acquiring Haliburton would be a very nice addition to this team. Haliburton is averaging 13.3 points and 6.9 assists in his second season in the league and he is shooting 42.4% from deep. Those numbers would be a perfect fit next to both Embiid and Tyrese Maxey going forward.
Going back to Simmons, it would be tough to see president Daryl Morey settle for anything less than a top 25 guy to put next to Embiid in order to contend. This process could still go deep into the season and even into the summer as Amick did add:
Still, sources say the Sixers — who have been on the lookout for an All-Star in return for Simmons for so long now — have continued to ask for a massive haul in return while frustrating some suitors along the way. As such, some team executives remain convinced that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is still waiting for Portland’s Damian Lillard or Washington’s Bradley Beal to be made available down the line (i.e. this summer at the earliest).
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out with Simmons as the Sixers begin to figure out their moves for the deadline.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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