People around the league know that the Philadelphia 76ers are not going to trade Ben Simmons for just about anything and president Daryl Morey and the front office actually now feel emboldened to wait for the offseason when it comes to any Simmons deals.
The overwhelming thought on Simmons is that the Sixers will wait for James Harden in order to team him up with Joel Embiid and go after a championship with that duo.
In the time being, it still is fun to look at mock trades leading up to the Feb. 10 trade deadline. The latest from Bleacher Report has the Sixers moving Simmons to the Memphis Grizzlies for Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, De’Anthony Melton, 2022 first-round pick (top-10 protected, via LAL), 2022 first-round pick (top-six protected, via UTA), and 2024 second-round pick (via LAL).
B/R on why the Sixers do this deal:
As for the 76ers, they don’t land their coveted star, but they do flesh out their roster with three rotation players (at least one starter in Dillon Brooks) and add draft capital to pursue more upgrades (perhaps in a Tobias Harris swap).
Brooks, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton all play both ends of the court. Brooks can get too hot to touch as a scorer. Anderson plays a cerebral game, which would allow him to pick and choose his spots alongside Joel Embiid. Melton is a monster defender and decent secondary creator.
This trade isn’t the worst that one can come up with, but with Harden becoming a real possibility for Simmons, the Sixers should definitely wait and see what they can get for the disgruntled star.
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