NBA Trade Rumors: Would the Philadelphia 76ers be interested in acquiring John Collins in exchange for Ben Simmons?
As the Ben Simmons sweepstakes continue on, there’s a good chance we’re going to get more noise regarding a potential trade over the next few weeks – the NBA Trade Deadline is less than a month away.
It was recently reported that the Philadelphia 76ers’ No. 1 preference is to get Simmons back on the team, but at this point that simply doesn’t seem likely. In the next few weeks, it would be surprising if the Sixers didn’t continue to navigate the Simmons trade waters.
They’re asking for a lot and it’ll be interesting to see what type of offers they get as the trade deadline quickly approaches.
One potential trade offer that could intrigue the Sixers – and the rest of the NBA media, for that matter – is the Atlanta Hawks offering John Collins and Cam Reddish for Ben Simmons. For the record, it hasn’t been reported that it was offered. But, could be something that could come to fruition in the next few weeks.
According to a few recent reports, we could be headed in that direction. The Athletic (subscription required) was the first to spitball that potential offer, suggesting that Collins’ role with the Hawks is not appeasing to him and that the team could get to a point where they’re willing to swap Collins for Simmons (there has been previous reporting on the team’s interest in Simmons).
The Hawks have gotten off to a disappointing start to the season and could be interested in a roster shakeup – plus, the team has some reinforcements at the power forward position if they were to willing to move Collins.
Even though the Sixers are playing much better of late are currently a top 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, they’re not a championship team without a legit No. 2 option next to Joel Embiid. The big question is whether a Collins and Reddish return is something that the Sixers would be interested in.
Ultimately, it probably comes down to whether a trio of Embiid, Collins, and Reddish is good enough to emerge from the Eastern Conference? At least on the surface, I would lean that the answer to that question is no.
And it wouldn’t be surprising if Daryl Morey tried to hold out for more. But at some point, Morey is going to have to help his team. And, right now, I’m not sure if it’s in the best interest of the team or Morey to waste another season of Embiid’s prime.
If nothing else, the Sixers should think long and hard if this offer comes across the table.