The Sixers need to make the best possible deal for Ben Simmons before the trade deadline or they’ll risk wasting a remarkable season from Joel Embiid, argues Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Embiid is putting up MVP-level numbers with 29.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per night. He has scored at least 25 points in 17 straight games and has Philadelphia in contention for the top spot in the East even though Simmons hasn’t played.
There has been speculation that Sixers president of basketball operation Daryl Morey is hoping to use Simmons to land James Harden during the offseason, but Pompey sees that as too great a risk. He notes that there’s no guarantee that Harden or any other star will be available this summer, meaning the offers for Simmons won’t be much different from what they are now. He also points out that the Bucks won a title last season after making minor improvements around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Celtics guard Marcus Smart is a supporter of coach Ime Udoka, who has come under criticism during his first season in Boston, per Jay King of The Athletic. Smart complimented Udoka on the job he’s done so far and said he trusts his coach to act in his best interests. “Being in Boston and coaching for Boston, it’s not easy, especially for your first year,” Smart said. “So we just have to continue to help him. I’ve gotta continue to help him. I’ve been here the longest. I know the guys more than he does. And I’ve gotta be that quarterback out there for him.”
- Smart admitted Saturday that he still has pieces of glass in his right hand after punching a picture frame four years ago, tweets Keith Smith of CelticsBlog. “Yeah, it gets like this ever since the picture frame incident,” Smart said. “There’s still some glass in there. The doctors said it would cause more issues to take it out, so I still have glass in there. Sometimes I can’t really feel my hand.”
- Raptors rookie Dalano Banton doesn’t mind the extra work of playing in the NBA and the G League at the same time, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “Going up and down to the G League and playing up here with the Raptors, I feel like I’m putting myself in a position to have a good, long career,” Banton said. “Everybody here looks out for me. They never let nothing slide with me. Everybody holds me accountable.”’
N.Nurse is the best Raptors coach ever but he has to be more patient with developing Banton. His yo-yo treatment is frustrating as this kid can be a better shooter version of M.CarterWilliams.
Siakam and Vanvleet went up and down during their first seasons. They are turning out just fine.
Plus he has looked better after his time in the g league.
Couple of ideas to end the mess. A little left field but better than hearing the same stories
1) Simmons & Harris to Knicks for Barret toppin and Walker.
Sixers get a vet PG to back up Embiid and and good forward in Barrett to replace Harris on a better contract, toppin the sweetener with high upside.
Knicks get a “superstar” to attract the fans in Ben and it lighten the pressure on Randle. Bad contract or not Harris is still a top player.
2)Simmons to Houston for C Wood, Kevin Porter Jr and Tate and a first.
Saga ends, they get another couple of good forwards to compliment Embiid and a strong 6th man/SG in KPJ.
I don’t like it from Houston POV but I see it being an option.
Your knicks trade is waaay off in terms of salary matching
Rockets are tanking, why do they trade for Simmons??
Salary match at your disgression, I was simply pointing the key trade points.
As for Houston, I read and article last week saying they’re looking for a star, simply put 2 and 2 together.
All this is in giving better ideas than the stale Kings and Hawks trades that we keep hearing. It’s obviously unlikely. But they wouldn’t be bad moves for Philly, hence the “left field” comment
I read a lot
Rockets don’t want Simmons
Trade idea is tough
Rockets get Someone like Tatum but not Tatum
76ers pick any players from Rockets
Third team gets Simmons
Speculation is king.
It all falls on how much Houston are still banking on KPJ really. If a top PG is available I see them going for it. I read the other day about a Possible Fox deal which looked quite attractive for both sides. But in terms of Simmons I doubt many people would say he’s their first choice but he is the best PG that would be available.
Any team looking to push who are short at the 1 would most likely be trying for him.
As far as Houston are concerned. The only position I see them not interest in upgrading would be the 2 because of the ceiling for Green. And the rumours are that they’re interested in trying to add some sort young star, future star.
But I see a splash before 10th. Along with the Pacers I see them as the most likely to be looking for a big move.
figuring out like 40M in salary isnt a simple task bro… Also Hou would only trade for Simmons to re flip him for young assets, also why would PHI want Wood or KPJ or really Tate. 6ers probably dont want Wood, KPJ is a super inefficient head case that recently left mid game your wildly overestimating his value which is probably more like a future protected second, and Tate is not a headliner for BS FFS….!…
That’s on me, I thought Kemba was still on a silly $30etc mil contract. On me getting it wrong.
I’m just bored of the Collins or Fox talk. They won’t fit, and neither will Simmons fit their rosters
Ok but Tobias and Ben make 65M+ combined.
Kemba is 8M and Toppin and RJ are in rookie deals. So unless NY throws in basically Randle and Fournier it won’t work.
But even setting that aside, Barrett’s play of late makes it moot—Knicks would prefer to keep the 21 yr old with upside, I think. Simmons is, at this point, closer to damaged goods than a superstar.
Agreed, RJ looked like a good player lately but. It wouldn’t be the first time Knicks make a trade to try and make a splash.
I held my hands up on the bad take. But even so. If the ship only Simmons and Knicks can get him for just RJ,Fournier and Toppin I wouldn’t be shocked. Upside or not. Simmons is a better player than all 3
Yeah my bad, didn’t see your post on Kemba/30m above. Didn’t mean to beat a dead horse.
RJ+stuff for Simmons is somewhat intriguing in comparison. Morey would definitely have to loosen his definition of a top 30 player, but Barrett has real upside, and maybe playing next to Embiid would accelerate his growth.
A little stickier on NY’s end—but Simmons is definitely a top *talent*. If he was a league average shooter he’d be a top defender and a 20-10-10 threat every night, which is definitely a higher ceiling than RJ.
It’s cool bro, I made that mistake, I expected a bit of backlash.
But I agree, plus RJ seems like a more complete player than Haliburton RN and both have a similar up side Along with Fournier and Walker(as oppose to Toppin) it would give Philly 3 players that should help challenge in Embiids prime. So it’s a better offer than Kings.
For Knicks they get an AS they can post all over the billboards. And with less pressure on his shoulders I think he’ll improve and become a better player.
No, on the Knicks. Either Simmons OR Harris would be a very awkward fit with the Knicks (neither would work with Randle and a C). A trade for either player would have to involve Randle. I don’t think the Knicks think Simmons is anything but a high risk flyer at this point. If he can’t handle Philly, he can’t handle NYC.
As a Knicks fan I wouldn’t mind letting Randle run point PF for Philly. Plus his 3 point shot this year is actually Ben Simmons-esque. He might fit right in.
As long as he performs like he has for the Knicks most of this year. If he regains his stroke, and he and JE figure out how to co-exist, the EC might not be competitive for awhile. All moot, of course, the
Knicks can’t waste the next 2 weeks dealing with Morey’s BS; they need to monitor both the buy and sell side of the TD market, as it shouldn’t be clear which one they’ll be on.
Sixers don’t want either of those deals
Sixers won’t be getting what they want with this. It’s gone on too long. If they had of offered a little more for Harden, or took a deal at the season start. we wouldn’t be in this situation. If they hold out to the off season, he’ll be worth even less. He’s depreciating every game he misses.
76ers GM is in a tough situation. If he doesn’t make a trade with Simmons and they fail to make it to the championship falling short in conference finals he will be blamed. If he makes a trade which pushes them over the top he will be a hero in Philly. He better hope he doesn’t blow their chances this year.
He will really eat the horse droppings, Eagles bro, if no major star comes available this summer. I mean this is a weird offseason with no cap space and no stars that are really thought to not re-up. Harden wanting out because of a flameout in the first round or something is really his only hope.
This is just like Giannis where a bunch of teams got burned trying to preserve room for poaching him. I almost think since he was going back to the Bucks he waited on announcing the extension to screw other teams out of FA signings. Like do we think the Knicks still make the same moves they did if they were ok with not having cap space available for the nonexistent Giannis sweepstakes?
The championship window is open for 76ers with the right move. Why not go for a championship now.
If Nets get mad, they refuse to sign and trade Harden to 76ers but other teams
Nets have 95% chance to keep Harden
Oh come on you dont think OKC can sway him to pair with SGA?
Tough spot really. Honestly I’d hate to send Ben to the Nets. Any team isn’t he West I’m good and any team I have zero fear of. Not a team with KD and Kyrie. That’s just a hard out in the playoffs even with Harden.
I think Simmons on the Nets would either be the perfect fit or mark the end of Durant’s tenure in Brooklyn.
Yea autocorrect screwed up my post but any team in the West I’m good with sending him to or a team like Washington in the East.
KD is probably going to want out if they don’t win this year.
Keith is right they are potentially wasting one of Embiid best seasons but he himself seems happy to do that if they can land a superstar in the offseason.
According to reports Morey and Embiid, the front office and ownership all seem happy to wait till the offseason in which they believe they can get 1 of either Harden, Beal or Dame.
So yes they could make a trade now but the return won’t be a top 15 player, it’ll be Jerami Grant, Christian Wood, DeAaron Fox or someone of that ilk. Which they believe isn’t enough to make them a favourite for the title.
Personally I sit somewhere in the middle. Although I would like to see them make a deal now and push for the tittle, I don’t think the team would be good enough. End of the day this team has 1 all star and that’s Embiid, Harris is nice but really expensive, Maxey is solid but he’s young.
If your seriously going for a title you need more than just 1 all star. GSW have 4, Bucks have 3, Nets have 3, Lakers have 3, Heat have 2, etc etc the Celtics have 2 and they are a fringe playoff team.
However going into the offseason to make the trade has a huge risk. If you can’t get the big 3 I mentioned then you are forced into taking a Grant or Fox type deal and trying to turn that into a true contender. You also risk pissing off Embiid your 1 star, pissing off your fans and so on and so on.
But at this stage it’s seems everyone is on board with holding onto Ben and going for a star in the offseason. I think that in itself is a good sign that they believe they will get it done and that the locker room won’t turn negative
Where it gets even more complicated for Morey is not only speculating who might be available in the summer, but what their teams’ might prefer.
Let’s assume Beal wants out—would Washington really want Simmons? Or would they prefer, say, a Halliburton-centered deal + picks? If you think Beal is going to want out do you try and front-run a deal with Sacramento now? Or do you just hope you can make a three-team trade in July?
Personally, I think Simmons’ value is low enough that I would consider trading him for youth and picks before 2/10—almost any team blowing it up wants rookie contracts and picks. By July it will be over a year since any team has seen Ben Simmons play basketball. That’s not going to increase his value.
Beal has a player option so if he wants out he can simply opt out and hit FA. Then the Wizards would be lucky we can do a sign and trade and offer them Simmons. Either that or he walks and they get nothing for him.
They won’t trade him now cause they are still trying to build around him and keep him happy. But doing a terrible job at it.
There’s absolutely no chance they trade him for picks and young players. They aren’t a rebuilding team they are a team trying to win a championship. They want to get back pieces to help Embiid now. That’s why they haven’t said yes to Grant Bey and picks or Brogdan and LeVert at the start of the season. They want a big name to help them win and I think they will get it
Morey will be FIRED February 11th !!!!!!
Two GMs the teams really don’t want to chat with them about trade are
Danny Ainge and Daryl Morey
They are top greedy.
Morey will be FIRED February 11th !!!!!!!
#FreeBenSimmons
Greek Freak and Troel Embiid are not comparable. Giannis bent his knee in half in the Finals and finished the series. If the same thing happened to Embiid it would have finished his career
I mean last playoffs Embiid played with a torn meniscus, right?
So maybe it would help you to stop hating & know some facts, I know is not like you, but if you try you might even like it, ya know!
Who did the Sixers lose to in the playoffs last year? Oh would that be the current 10 seed Atlanta Hawks? Interesting. Im sure injury prone Embiid is loving having the highest usage % in the NBA. Definitely won’t back fire. #FreeBenSimmons though right?
Moreyon won’t move Ben this yr. If I was Embiid I’d get him fired. Imo Harden and Embiid won’t work. And Ben and KD is a great mix. So I would get all I can from Sixers. Let Moreyon choke with Harden.
Maxey has helped himself thru all this.
And Nets should trade Kyrie and move on. Cause he’s not coming back after all this anyway. He’s got a player option next yr. I trade him at TD.
The East could change significantly after TD. Nets, Cavs, Celtics, Sixers, Hawks, Knicks, Bulls all could make significant moves. It’s going to be very Interesting.
Would Ben play for the 76ers again if they got rid of Rivers? If they go out early in the playoffs and dump Doc is there enough trust and respect to mend the fences?
Under normal circumstances on any other team it’s possible. But it depends on how the fans perceive what has happened.
In my eyes it’s Doc’s fault, his teammates didn’t help, but it only took 3 games for Doc to destroy Simmons reputation. Granted the narrative was evident considering his short comings In The games. But Doc made it a big thing.
That said Simmons went about it the wrong way, I wouldn’t forgive what he has done if I was a native. But I would also blame Doc just as much. and Morey has made it 10x worse trying to hold out for Lillard, Beal or still waiting on Harden. None of which I see a good fit for Embiid.
Ben destroyed his own reputation. Doc was asked a question and he answered it pretty truthfully. He doesn’t know the answer of whether Ben can be a PG on a championship team.
Ben is responsible for his actions and reactions.
I’ll agree to a point that Dame, Beal, and Harden aren’t perfect fits. None of them are great 3pt shooters but they are great scorers. The perfect fit would be Steph or Kyrie or LaVine if we are just looking at guards.
They need a guy that can get 30 on any given night but won’t throw in a single digit night. They need someone that will consistently score.
What or who was the picture of, that Smart punched so passionately?
Do you think Boston would accept Markannen with Rubio and Sexton (both injured and expiring) for Horford and Smart? It works financially and I like it for both teams.
Boston gets a few options there on contracts between Schroder, Bol, Rubio and Sexton, players to complement Williams, Markannen, Tatum and Brown.
The Cavs continue this defensive focus with Smart joining the starters Garland, Okoro, Mobley and Allen. That leaves Rondo, Love and Horford in an experienced second unit.
I still like Simmons as a player. The endless ‘expert’ fan opinions and butthurt Philly fans have somehow got a voice. The man can play. He won’t ever be a shooter, or even a score first player, but there are plenty of guys excelling without a three point game, (Draymond, Derozan, Butler) and plenty of effective glue guys and contributors with far less tools. I don’t think Morey will trade him (which I’m not sure is more spiteful or stupid), but I think Charlotte should be trying to get him to play the Draymond role. If they could get him for Hayward or Rozier and pick/s, that’d work for me. A team running with Ball, Bridges, Simmons and Oubre is potentially pretty damaging. Throw in Rozier/Hayward, Plumlee, maybe a more developed Bouknight next year and they could be a headache.
Trade Simmons+Harris and picks for Beal & Dinwiddie
Put Latvian Lazer in the Bullets package for Danny Green expiring if you want to