The Ben Simmons saga is far from a resolution for the Philadelphia 76ers.
As far as the NBA’s offseason goes, draft night is usually the first night where we see teams make huge moves towards the next season. This year was no exception, as we saw Russell Westbrook moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, as they look to get back into the championship picture, after a disappointing end to their defending season.
However, the one deal NBA fans have been looking forward to, since the end of the playoffs, was noticeably missing; the Philadelphia 76ers moving Ben Simmons.
With all of the reports coming from within the organization that Simmons has basically ghosted the franchise and hasn’t been in touch all summer, along with swirling rumors that the franchise is ready to move on from the experimental pairing of Simmons and Joel Embiid, the draft night seemed like the perfect time to make a deal happen.
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So why weren’t the Sixers able to move the three-time NBA All-Star, and Defensive Player of The Year runner-up?
The Philadelphia 76ers wanted a godfather offer from the Golden State Warriors on draft night
According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers reportedly have a very steep asking price for Simmons and asked the Golden State Warriors for Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, and the seventh and 14th picks in the draft, which the Warriors declined.
To be honest, with the potential Simmons has, he could very well be worth that, and that’s never been a secret. The only person who doesn’t seem to realize that is Simmons himself.
The problem with the steep asking price is that teams aren’t valuing Simmons on potential anymore because he’s 25. He’s being valued on performance, and the last time we saw Simmons play he was nonexistent on the offensive end when his team needed him most, a trend that has had Philly fans pulling their hair out for the majority of Simmons’ tenure with the franchise.
As far as fit goes, the Warriors are probably a best-case scenario as far as landing spots go for the Australian. As a pass-first player, playing with arguably the two best shooters of all-time in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will open up the lane for him to attack the basket, but Simmons won’t have to worry about being a first or even second option offensively.
He would also be in a system that values ball movement, and could potentially use him as a screener for Curry and Thompson which could open up even more scoring opportunities for him. The Sixers just have to be willing to take a little less, and if they didn’t ask for Wiseman as well, it’s possible the deal would already be done.
Even though Simmons had a rough end to the season, I personally believe that in the right situation, he can be one of the best players in the NBA, even without the shooting ability everyone else thinks he needs desperately.