Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers remain at an impasse, as the two sides have been since Philadelphia was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks in June.
Simmons, who is under contract for four more seasons, would like to be traded. The 76ers would like to trade him, but only for a return they believe is commensurate with how they value the 25-year-old three-time All-Star and two-time All-Defense selection.
The problem started fom the moment Simmons passed out of a wide-open dunk to his teamates Thybulle to go in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Hawks, league insiders have believed his exit from Philadelphia was inevitable.
After staunchly defending Simmons all season, Sixers coach Doc Rivers was asked after that Game 7 loss if Simmons could be a championship-level point guard. "I don't know the answer to that," Rivers said. His teammate Joel Embiid, franchise player of the 76ers also pushed him in at the press conference instead of supporting his teammate.
As it stands, Ben Simmons no longer comes to training camp and patiently attends being a trade in another league franchise. He has also decided not to help the 76ers during this trade; Each side has to do their job according to him.
Rumors have it that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the closest to recovering the Australian point guard. A trade involving draft picks as well as Lauri Markannen just arrived from Chicago could take place. The Cavaliers also have players like Colin Sexton, Jarett Allen and Kevin Love who could be of interest to the 76ers. However, the 76ers would like to recoup an all-nba-level back. Indeed, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal are the 2 profiles that would interest Philadelphia the most according to “Woj”.
We will follow the evolution of the situation very closely on MyBlock
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