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NBA trade deadline looms, but Ben Simmons remains a Sixer. What we know, and which teams could deal for him?
By Sam Amick 39m ago
16 
The idea of Ben Simmons is one thing.
At his best, the 25-year-old Philadelphia 76ers star is one of the most impactful defenders in today’s game and the kind of up-tempo playmaker who can inject life into any team’s sluggish offense. Even with his well-chronicled shooting woes, his sheer talent indicates a player worthy of a hefty trade offer for the vast majority of the league.
So as the Feb. 10 deadline nears, why is there hesitation on the part of some interested executives to go all-in with an offer? Because the reality of the Simmons situation is that the questions — lots and lots of questions — remain about who he will be as a player in the future. With less than a month to go before the final calls can be made, and with Simmons widely seen as the most important domino that might fall before the action ramps up, teams are continuing to analyze this situation in real time.
For starters, there’s the fact that Simmons hasn’t played in an NBA game since June 20, 2021 and, well, the lasting impression from that infamous Game 7 of the East semifinals against Atlanta wasn’t exactly a good one. Accurate or not, this years-long pattern of Simmons struggling with confidence issues on the floor is seen by some interested teams as a separate matter from the mental-health struggles that he has cited as his reason for staying off it. In terms of Simmons’ eventual availability with a new team, the message has been sent that he would be ready to play after a few weeks of intensified conditioning and court action.
But while making the front-office rounds to get a better understanding of the Simmons studies happening in real time here, I stumbled on this somewhat surprising sentiment: The length (and size) of his contract, which has been seen by the Sixers as a major leverage point and justification for the steep asking price because the threat of free agency delayed, is actually a concern to some. To review, Simmons has three more seasons and a combined $108.8 million left on his deal after this season (through 2024-25). And the hesitation, it seems clear, has everything to do with the question of whether or not Simmons can be trusted to actually play like the best version of himself, continue to develop and be a cohesive force with his teammates in ways that he wasn’t always before.
There’s this subplot to the Simmons situation, too: As if the uncertainty that would come with taking on his massive deal isn’t enough, sources say the Sixers have been attempting to attach forward Tobias Harris and his sizable deal in possible Simmons deals with multiple teams as well (including Atlanta and Sacramento). The 29-year-old forward, who is averaging 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, is owed a combined $79.4 million in the next two seasons.
So long as the Harris component remains part of the Sixers’ strategy, it’s not only another significant complication in the process but also the kind of thing that leaves rival executives questioning the Sixers’ genuine interest in finding a deal for Simmons now. After all, many have suspected that Morey would rather wait for the Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal or even James Harden types (the Nets star could reunite with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey this summer via sign-and-trade if he opted out of his deal).
These are the types of things that keep Simmons suitors up at night, with all the best-case and worst-case scenarios running through their minds as they ponder the fate of their team and, within that, their own professional futures. The fact that Simmons hasn’t spoken publicly since those ill-fated playoffs nearly seven months ago doesn’t help, as his continued silence has made it tough for teams to take a genuine gauge of his current outlook. If you’re going to mortgage your basketball future to bring him to town, in other words, it sure would be nice to hear from him first.
So with Morey on the lookout for a top-30 player while insisting that he’ll hold onto Simmons past the deadline if he needs to, who’s going to be the boldest at the bargaining table? The field of likely candidates remains vast.
As our Shams Charania reported on Monday, the suitors include Atlanta, Sacramento, Portland, Minnesota and Indiana. Here’s the latest look at the lay of the land for each of those teams, with a breakdown of the state of the Sixers as well.
ATLANTA HAWKS (17-22, 12th in the East)
The Sixers’ reported interest in the Hawks’ John Collins is a development worth monitoring, to be sure, especially considering the big man’s angst with his Hawks role that was reported in Charania’s piece (as a sidenote, the recently extended 24-year-old becomes eligible for a trade Saturday). This isn’t the first time Collins has been known to be frustrated on that front, as we chronicled similar themes in this story a year ago before Atlanta went on to make its surprising Eastern Conference Finals run.
What’s more, as I reported the day before Collins agreed to his five-year, $125 million extension with the Hawks in early August, he didn’t take this deal right away back then because it wasn’t the max contract he believed he deserved. Five months later, Collins’ production is nearly identical to last season (17.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, two assists and 1.1 blocks per game) and the Hawks find themselves reeling (they’ve lost 13 of 19 games).
There have clearly been differing visions on Collins’ career for quite some time in Atlanta, but it remains to be seen if he’s an enticing enough talent for the Sixers to make him the centerpiece of a Simmons deal. Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk put his players on notice in a brutally honest radio interview recently, telling Atlanta radio station 92.9 The Game “It’s my responsibility to put a product on the floor that can win, and right now I’m questioning whether or not I’ve done that.”
SACRAMENTO KINGS (16-27, 12th in the West)
Not only have the Kings lost 13 of their last 18 games, but attendance is on the decline (second-worst in the league with an average of 14,357, according to ESPN.com). They already fired coach Luke Walton in mid-November after a 6-11 start, with Alvin Gentry taking over in an interim role. The next attempt at a solution, it’s quite clear, will have to be a roster rebuild.
Yet while the Kings have made no secret of their desire to finally break their league-long playoff drought that dates back to 2006, it’s not a singular goal for the front office that is led by second-year general manager Monte McNair. The long-term outlook and a chance for sustained success is still priority No. 1, but the state of affairs has grown bad enough that — as I reported last week — any and all Kings players are up for discussion (yes, even De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton). It doesn’t hurt that the Kings have all of their first-round draft picks, either.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (16-24, 10th in the West)
As we wrote back in early December after the firing of former general manager Neil Olshey, franchise centerpiece Damian Lillard would be more than happy to play with Simmons — as opposed to switching places with him like Morey would prefer. And why not? Simmons would certainly help this Trail Blazers group that is 29th in defensive rating this season under first-year coach Chauncey Billups and has struggled in the playmaking department as well.
But with Lillard missing significant time already because of an abdomen injury that may force the Trail Blazers to shut him down for the season, it will be interesting to see how aggressive interim general manager Joe Cronin gets here. Landing Simmons, of course, would be the kind of big-time move that could alleviate all those fears of Lillard asking for a trade, looming for so long now. When Olshey was still leading the front office, Portland discussed a Simmons deal in which the framework included CJ McCollum, a first-round draft pick and a young player (i.e. Nassir Little or Anfernee Simons).
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (20-21, ninth in the West)
We’re going to resident expert Jon Krawczynski for the update on the Timberwolves, who have won nine of their last 15 games after an 11-15 start…
“The Timberwolves have maintained interest in Simmons throughout this saga. Executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, who took over as the primary decision maker when Gersson Rosas was fired just before training camp, has a long history with Morey dating back to their days together in Houston. The Wolves continue to have conversations with Philadelphia, but the challenge has been finding common ground to meet Morey’s high demands. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are off the table in any discussions. The Wolves have all of their draft picks to mix into any offers, but it has long been believed internally that they would need to get at least one other team involved to construct a deal that would be to Philly’s liking. But unless or until Simmons is traded elsewhere, the Wolves will have interest in bringing him to Minnesota.”
Amick addendum: In terms of Minnesota’s level of interest, multiple rival executives have indicated that the Timberwolves aren’t expected to do anything else trade wise that might take them out of the running for Simmons so long as they’re still in it.
INDIANA PACERS (15-26, 13th in the East)
There aren’t many sellers in the market this trade season, largely because the Play-In Tournament has created more buyers than before. But the Pacers, as we all know by now, are open for business when it comes to players like Caris LeVert, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.
Yet in a session with local reporters in mid-December, longtime owner Herb Simon insisted that he’s not green-lighting a rebuild here. As our Bob Kravitz detailed, Simon even managed to describe these Pacers as “a hell of a team” when they were 12-17 at the time. Fast forward a month, and the Pacers have proven to be even less worthy of that description than before: They’ve lost 10 of their last 13.
Longtime Pacers president Kevin Pritchard will be leading the way in the front office as always, but first-year coach Rick Carlisle’s voice will certainly be significant as well. If it was up to our John Hollinger (formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies front office, of course), the Pacers would send Sabonis, Chris Duarte and T.J. Warren to Philadelphia for Simmons, Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe.
As Hollinger wrote on Dec. 30…
“Simmons, meanwhile, could be a revelation in Indy, with actual shooters surrounding him and no other floor-spacing compromisers; a Simmons-Myles Turner combo could be awesome on defense too. Malcolm Brogdon could slot into a more natural secondary role, Caris LeVert could do whatever it is he does off the bench and, most importantly for me, B-ball Paul would be liberated to thrive with Indy’s second unit.”
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (23-16, fifth in the East)
So, what will Daryl do?
That question might determine the direction of the trade season. As I’ve said and written before, it’s worth remembering that Morey is only 30 months removed from a blockbuster trade of his doing that was, in retrospect, quite regrettable: In his last offseason heading the Houston Rockets front office, Morey sent Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The friction between then-Rockets star James Harden and Paul was quite high at the time, so there was a fair amount of pressure from all sides — including owner Tilman Fertitta — to make the deal.
But we forget sometimes that executives are ultra-competitive in their professions as well, and it’s safe to say Morey has no interest in executing a bad deal because of pressure ever again. As an aside, sources say that’s also the reason the Sixers have zero interest in the prospect of swapping Simmons for Westbrook now and alleviating the Lakers’ fit concerns with their superstar trio.
But in case you haven’t noticed during the Sixers’ seven-game winning streak that has them just one game behind the defending champion Bucks, big man Joel Embiid is playing his way back into the MVP race of late and thus reminding everyone that it’s a shame that a season of his prime is being unofficially wasted here. He’s a player who is worthy of title contention, but the Simmons standoff — at least for now — has put a virtual ceiling on what this team can do for now in terms of winning it all.
(Photo of Ben Simmons: Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
NBA trade deadline looms, but Ben Simmons remains a Sixer. What we know, and which teams could deal for him?
By Sam Amick 39m ago
16 The idea of Ben Simmons is one thing.
At his best, the 25-year-old Philadelphia 76ers star is one of the most impactful defenders in today’s game and the kind of up-tempo playmaker who can inject life into any team’s sluggish offense. Even with his well-chronicled shooting woes, his sheer talent indicates a player worthy of a hefty trade offer for the vast majority of the league.
So as the Feb. 10 deadline nears, why is there hesitation on the part of some interested executives to go all-in with an offer? Because the reality of the Simmons situation is that the questions — lots and lots of questions — remain about who he will be as a player in the future. With less than a month to go before the final calls can be made, and with Simmons widely seen as the most important domino that might fall before the action ramps up, teams are continuing to analyze this situation in real time.
For starters, there’s the fact that Simmons hasn’t played in an NBA game since June 20, 2021 and, well, the lasting impression from that infamous Game 7 of the East semifinals against Atlanta wasn’t exactly a good one. Accurate or not, this years-long pattern of Simmons struggling with confidence issues on the floor is seen by some interested teams as a separate matter from the mental-health struggles that he has cited as his reason for staying off it. In terms of Simmons’ eventual availability with a new team, the message has been sent that he would be ready to play after a few weeks of intensified conditioning and court action.
But while making the front-office rounds to get a better understanding of the Simmons studies happening in real time here, I stumbled on this somewhat surprising sentiment: The length (and size) of his contract, which has been seen by the Sixers as a major leverage point and justification for the steep asking price because the threat of free agency delayed, is actually a concern to some. To review, Simmons has three more seasons and a combined $108.8 million left on his deal after this season (through 2024-25). And the hesitation, it seems clear, has everything to do with the question of whether or not Simmons can be trusted to actually play like the best version of himself, continue to develop and be a cohesive force with his teammates in ways that he wasn’t always before.
There’s this subplot to the Simmons situation, too: As if the uncertainty that would come with taking on his massive deal isn’t enough, sources say the Sixers have been attempting to attach forward Tobias Harris and his sizable deal in possible Simmons deals with multiple teams as well (including Atlanta and Sacramento). The 29-year-old forward, who is averaging 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, is owed a combined $79.4 million in the next two seasons.
So long as the Harris component remains part of the Sixers’ strategy, it’s not only another significant complication in the process but also the kind of thing that leaves rival executives questioning the Sixers’ genuine interest in finding a deal for Simmons now. After all, many have suspected that Morey would rather wait for the Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal or even James Harden types (the Nets star could reunite with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey this summer via sign-and-trade if he opted out of his deal).
These are the types of things that keep Simmons suitors up at night, with all the best-case and worst-case scenarios running through their minds as they ponder the fate of their team and, within that, their own professional futures. The fact that Simmons hasn’t spoken publicly since those ill-fated playoffs nearly seven months ago doesn’t help, as his continued silence has made it tough for teams to take a genuine gauge of his current outlook. If you’re going to mortgage your basketball future to bring him to town, in other words, it sure would be nice to hear from him first.
So with Morey on the lookout for a top-30 player while insisting that he’ll hold onto Simmons past the deadline if he needs to, who’s going to be the boldest at the bargaining table? The field of likely candidates remains vast.
As our Shams Charania reported on Monday, the suitors include Atlanta, Sacramento, Portland, Minnesota and Indiana. Here’s the latest look at the lay of the land for each of those teams, with a breakdown of the state of the Sixers as well.
ATLANTA HAWKS (17-22, 12th in the East)
The Sixers’ reported interest in the Hawks’ John Collins is a development worth monitoring, to be sure, especially considering the big man’s angst with his Hawks role that was reported in Charania’s piece (as a sidenote, the recently extended 24-year-old becomes eligible for a trade Saturday). This isn’t the first time Collins has been known to be frustrated on that front, as we chronicled similar themes in this story a year ago before Atlanta went on to make its surprising Eastern Conference Finals run.
What’s more, as I reported the day before Collins agreed to his five-year, $125 million extension with the Hawks in early August, he didn’t take this deal right away back then because it wasn’t the max contract he believed he deserved. Five months later, Collins’ production is nearly identical to last season (17.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, two assists and 1.1 blocks per game) and the Hawks find themselves reeling (they’ve lost 13 of 19 games).
There have clearly been differing visions on Collins’ career for quite some time in Atlanta, but it remains to be seen if he’s an enticing enough talent for the Sixers to make him the centerpiece of a Simmons deal. Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk put his players on notice in a brutally honest radio interview recently, telling Atlanta radio station 92.9 The Game “It’s my responsibility to put a product on the floor that can win, and right now I’m questioning whether or not I’ve done that.”
SACRAMENTO KINGS (16-27, 12th in the West)
Not only have the Kings lost 13 of their last 18 games, but attendance is on the decline (second-worst in the league with an average of 14,357, according to ESPN.com). They already fired coach Luke Walton in mid-November after a 6-11 start, with Alvin Gentry taking over in an interim role. The next attempt at a solution, it’s quite clear, will have to be a roster rebuild.
Yet while the Kings have made no secret of their desire to finally break their league-long playoff drought that dates back to 2006, it’s not a singular goal for the front office that is led by second-year general manager Monte McNair. The long-term outlook and a chance for sustained success is still priority No. 1, but the state of affairs has grown bad enough that — as I reported last week — any and all Kings players are up for discussion (yes, even De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton). It doesn’t hurt that the Kings have all of their first-round draft picks, either.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (16-24, 10th in the West)
As we wrote back in early December after the firing of former general manager Neil Olshey, franchise centerpiece Damian Lillard would be more than happy to play with Simmons — as opposed to switching places with him like Morey would prefer. And why not? Simmons would certainly help this Trail Blazers group that is 29th in defensive rating this season under first-year coach Chauncey Billups and has struggled in the playmaking department as well.
But with Lillard missing significant time already because of an abdomen injury that may force the Trail Blazers to shut him down for the season, it will be interesting to see how aggressive interim general manager Joe Cronin gets here. Landing Simmons, of course, would be the kind of big-time move that could alleviate all those fears of Lillard asking for a trade, looming for so long now. When Olshey was still leading the front office, Portland discussed a Simmons deal in which the framework included CJ McCollum, a first-round draft pick and a young player (i.e. Nassir Little or Anfernee Simons).
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (20-21, ninth in the West)
We’re going to resident expert Jon Krawczynski for the update on the Timberwolves, who have won nine of their last 15 games after an 11-15 start…
“The Timberwolves have maintained interest in Simmons throughout this saga. Executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, who took over as the primary decision maker when Gersson Rosas was fired just before training camp, has a long history with Morey dating back to their days together in Houston. The Wolves continue to have conversations with Philadelphia, but the challenge has been finding common ground to meet Morey’s high demands. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are off the table in any discussions. The Wolves have all of their draft picks to mix into any offers, but it has long been believed internally that they would need to get at least one other team involved to construct a deal that would be to Philly’s liking. But unless or until Simmons is traded elsewhere, the Wolves will have interest in bringing him to Minnesota.”
Amick addendum: In terms of Minnesota’s level of interest, multiple rival executives have indicated that the Timberwolves aren’t expected to do anything else trade wise that might take them out of the running for Simmons so long as they’re still in it.
INDIANA PACERS (15-26, 13th in the East)
There aren’t many sellers in the market this trade season, largely because the Play-In Tournament has created more buyers than before. But the Pacers, as we all know by now, are open for business when it comes to players like Caris LeVert, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis.
Yet in a session with local reporters in mid-December, longtime owner Herb Simon insisted that he’s not green-lighting a rebuild here. As our Bob Kravitz detailed, Simon even managed to describe these Pacers as “a hell of a team” when they were 12-17 at the time. Fast forward a month, and the Pacers have proven to be even less worthy of that description than before: They’ve lost 10 of their last 13.
Longtime Pacers president Kevin Pritchard will be leading the way in the front office as always, but first-year coach Rick Carlisle’s voice will certainly be significant as well. If it was up to our John Hollinger (formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies front office, of course), the Pacers would send Sabonis, Chris Duarte and T.J. Warren to Philadelphia for Simmons, Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe.
As Hollinger wrote on Dec. 30…
“Simmons, meanwhile, could be a revelation in Indy, with actual shooters surrounding him and no other floor-spacing compromisers; a Simmons-Myles Turner combo could be awesome on defense too. Malcolm Brogdon could slot into a more natural secondary role, Caris LeVert could do whatever it is he does off the bench and, most importantly for me, B-ball Paul would be liberated to thrive with Indy’s second unit.”
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (23-16, fifth in the East)
So, what will Daryl do?
That question might determine the direction of the trade season. As I’ve said and written before, it’s worth remembering that Morey is only 30 months removed from a blockbuster trade of his doing that was, in retrospect, quite regrettable: In his last offseason heading the Houston Rockets front office, Morey sent Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The friction between then-Rockets star James Harden and Paul was quite high at the time, so there was a fair amount of pressure from all sides — including owner Tilman Fertitta — to make the deal.
But we forget sometimes that executives are ultra-competitive in their professions as well, and it’s safe to say Morey has no interest in executing a bad deal because of pressure ever again. As an aside, sources say that’s also the reason the Sixers have zero interest in the prospect of swapping Simmons for Westbrook now and alleviating the Lakers’ fit concerns with their superstar trio.
But in case you haven’t noticed during the Sixers’ seven-game winning streak that has them just one game behind the defending champion Bucks, big man Joel Embiid is playing his way back into the MVP race of late and thus reminding everyone that it’s a shame that a season of his prime is being unofficially wasted here. He’s a player who is worthy of title contention, but the Simmons standoff — at least for now — has put a virtual ceiling on what this team can do for now in terms of winning it all.
(Photo of Ben Simmons: Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
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