NBA Roundtable: Sixers, Nets are a mess; breakout players; Finals predictions

3. What’s more likely to happen this season – Ben Simmons is traded or Kyrie Irving retires?

Michael: Considering that I believe that the Sixers are going to have some really big problems if they don’t trade Simmons by the NBA Trade Deadline, I’m going to say that we see a Simmons trade soon after the start of the season.

Liam: Both Simmons and Irving have issues with their respective clubs, however, Simmons being traded is more likely than Irving retiring. Simmons has been pushing the Sixers for a trade for months and there is going to be a lot of tension. The fans are not going to be forgiving and I think once his value goes up he will be shipped off to another team.

David: Full disclosure: I’ve rewritten my answer to this question at least five times. While I initially believed Kyrie’s retirement to be imminent, re-reading Shams Charania’s report — which, by the way, is there any doubt that the “sources” in Irving’s camp was anyone but Kyrie and his agent? —I actually think Irving left just enough wriggle room in his explanation for his vaccine stance to justify an eventual about-face and return.

Suppose he genuinely believes he is a “voice for the voiceless” rather than taking a stand against vaccines as a whole. In that case, it isn’t too difficult to imagine him giving a press conference come January in which he claims to have made his point, created “conversation,” and is now ready to report to the Barclays Center.

On the other hand, Simmons’ situation is almost certain to end in a trade; the question as always is when. A slow start by the Sixers, or any one of Simmons’ suitors in the trade market, might be all it takes to break the stalemate.