The Philadelphia 76ers are moving forward into the offseason looking to find ways to upgrade their roster following another disappointing playoff finish in 2021. They were the No. 1 seed in the East, but they fell in Game 7 at home in Round 2 of the playoffs to the No. 5 seed Atlanta Hawks.
Since then, there have been loud trade rumors for star Ben Simmons who struggled mightily on offense in the postseason. He shot only 34.2% from the foul line for the entirety of the playoffs and it affected his aggressiveness greatly as it seemed that he was afraid to be fouled.
Philadelphia badly needs shot creation around Joel Embiid in order to move forward and there have been hopes that the Sixers could land Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. However, there have also been talks about his backcourt mate, C.J. McCollum.
According to a report by Jason Quick of The Athletic, the Sixers are unlikely to move Simmons for McCollum even if the package included a younger player like Nassir Little:
McCollum likely isn’t enticing enough to pry Ben Simmons from Philadelphia, even though their salaries virtually match. Olshey is known to be close friends with Daryl Morey, his counterpart in Philadelphia, but that friendship won’t be a factor whether Morey considers a McCollum-based offer, even if the pot is sweetened with young players such as Simons or Little.
It makes sense that the Sixers would be unlikely to pull this move. Philadelphia wants an All-Star in return for Simmons and while McCollum is a talented player and he is a guy who provides a skill that they need, he is not going to be enough for Philadelphia to move a young and talented All-Star like Simmons.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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