Sixers looking to include surprising player in Ben Simmons trade?
As they continue to search for a palatable Ben Simmons trade, the Philadelphia 76ers could be getting real weird with it.
Speaking this week on ESPN’s “The Hoop Collective” podcast, Marc J. Spears and Brian Windhorst reported that the Sixers are looking to include forward Tobias Harris in a potential trade package with Ben Simmons.
Harris, who has been the No. 2 option behind Joel Embiid with Simmons out, is averaging 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game this year. But he has been doing it on a career-low 45.5 percent from the field and a near career-low of 29.5 percent from deep. Harris is also not very popular in Philadelphia and recently had an incident with the local fans.
But the elephant in the room with packaging Simmons and Harris together is salary. The former is owed $111 million over the next three seasons and has a 15 percent trade kicker. The latter is owed $77 million over the next two seasons and has a trade kicker of 5 percent or $5 million (whichever is less). That is obviously a boatload of money for another team to take on.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 10, and there was recent talk that Simmons could end up with a very ironic team. If the Sixers want to somehow include Harris too in what would essentially be a salary dump, they may have to add some sweetener (e.g. picks) to the deal as well or get a third team involved.
Photo: Jan 30, 2020; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) talks to fans before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports