The Philadelphia 76ers have maintained that they are in no rush to trade Ben Simmons despite how toxic the situation has become. Teams have been balking at Philly’s asking price since the offseason, and apparently they are even less likely to pay it now.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto discussed the Simmons situation on the latest “HoopsHype” podcast. He said NBA executives have told him that the Sixers’ asking price remains “way too high.”
“When I talk to other executives around the league about the situation with the Sixers, nobody feels sorry for (president of basketball operations) Daryl Morey around the league,” Scotto said. “They think his asking price is way too high coming off the playoffs. Teams know Ben Simmons doesn’t want to be there.”
Not only that, but execs feel Simmons has less trade value now than he did during the summer. That’s because the Sixers played extremely well without him before Joel Embiid got hurt.
“I’ve heard this from some executives, too, that when Joel Embiid was healthy and before their recent losing streak, this team was performing well without him. Some executives said to me it further lowered the trade value for Ben,” Scotto said. “When you lose a star player, you typically struggle, but Philadelphia coming out of the gate, was leading the Eastern Conference.”
That makes sense. Teams already knew Simmons was adamant about never playing for the 76ers again. Now they know the Sixers don’t even need the former first overall pick. Philly already had barely any leverage, and now they have even less.
Simmons has been away from the Sixers, and his agent recently blasted the team for supposedly making Simmons’ mental health issues worse. Simmons has spent time practicing with a local college team instead of working out with his own teammates.
