The Philadelphia 76ers are 38 games into the 2021-22 season. They are 22-16. Ben Simmons is still a member of the team.
With the Feb. 10 trade deadline looming, and team president Daryl Morey has to make a decision.
The Sixers have maintained two stances when it comes to the Simmons saga: They want him back with the team and they will only trade him for a top-25 player to pair with Joel Embiid.
However, the goal of persuading Simmons to stay is not going over well with the 25-year-old three-time All-Star. In the offseason, the star guard indicated he would never wear a Sixers uniform again.
Per veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein, Simmons’ position remains unchanged:
One source close to the situation insisted to me over the weekend that the Sixers have little-to-no hope of success if their intent is to let the trade deadline pass without dealing Simmons and then try to lobby him to rejoin the squad for the regular season’s stretch run as well as the postseason. While still listed as out game after game for personal reasons while focusing on his mental health, Simmons is said to be holding firm on his pledge to never again wear the uniform of the team that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
The logic is there for the Sixers to want to keep Simmons. The last time a team made a major acquisition at the deadline and went on to win the title was in 2004 when the Detroit Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace.
If the Sixers were to make a major move now, there is no guarantee they win a title this season. That new player would need time to work his way into the system and develop both chemistry and a comfort level. Simmons, obviously, has chemistry with the main pieces on this roster. It will be interesting to see what Philadelphia does leading up to the deadline.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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