NBA Trade Rumors: The Philadelphia 76ers are gaining traction on a potential Ben Simmons deal.
Over the past few weeks, there hasn’t been much, if any, trade traction when it came to Ben Simmons. Or, at least, that’s the way it felt due to the lack of reporting on the issue. However, that all suddenly changed Friday.
According to a recent report, the Philadelphia 76ers are inching closer to a deal in what is being described as a trade that would land them a top 25 player. Though, this report makes it clear that it won’t be Damian Lillard.
Take that for what it’s worth.
"Nevertheless, the Sixers are becoming more engaged on multiple fronts in talks centered on Simmons. Philadelphia has been aggressively trying to assemble two- and three-team deal structures to land a package that would include a top 25-level player, sources said."
It’s difficult to suggest who the Sixers are engaged in talks with. You’d expect that the Portland Trail Blazers would be one of those teams. Though, the Sixers have made it clear that they don’t plan on trading Simmons for CJ McCollum straight up, so it would almost definitely have to include a third team.
After that, all bets are off. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers were two other teams that were reportedly interested in Simmons before, but there’s no way to predict if they’re in on these most recent rounds of talks or not.
Nevertheless, the bottom line after this most recent report is that the expectation remains that Simmons will not play another game for the Sixers. All that momentuim to getting Simmons back with the team seems to have disapated. And perhaps that’s for the best.
The best and most reasonable outcome was always for Simmons and the Sixers to part ways. It’s probably best at this point in what’s left of their relationship.
It’s looking more and more like a trade could come soon. At the latest, you’d have to believe that this will all be over by this year’s NBA Trade Deadline.