The Ben Simmons story continues.
If you bet that the 76 defenders of Ben Simmons will be traded to the Kings, the second best team at +400 odds this season, well, we have some bad news for you. . (Note: Minnesota has the best odds of +300.)
While Sacramento has been active in recent commercial conversations, the franchise doesn’t want to move bodyguards De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. In a report published Wednesday, Charania revealed the co-Kings spoke to Fox and his agent, Family First Sports’ Chris Gaston, told them the organization wanted to “focus the team around” Fox. and Haliburton.
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If the Kings really aren’t interested in trading Fox or Haliburton before the February 10 trading deadline – there are always plenty of smoke screens to navigate around this part of the NBA calendar – then Simmons’ goal to buy they will become a lot more difficult .
Sacramento interested in star three times fully documented, but Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, didn’t back down from his sky-high price tag. Fox or Haliburton will be at the heart of any hypothetical Simmons deal between the 76ers and the Kings, so it doesn’t appear that Sacramento is a Simmons landing, unless the front office changes its stance or gets involved. third team. Morey doesn’t seem interested in accepting a few players and NBA Draft picks when he’s held out for so long.
Who else can kings trade with?
Hypothetically, the kings could shop Marvin Bagley III, Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes or Harrison Barnes in a deal to balance out the money required to acquire Simmons.
- Bagley III has a contract of 11.3 million USD.
- Hield signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension in 2019 and is expected to earn $22.4 million this season.
- Barnes also signed a four-year, $85 million contract in 2019.
- Holmes signed a four-year, $46.5 million deal this past season and has a 15% commercial backer tied to his deal, so moving him seems like a no-brainer. the least that happens.
- Simmons signed a four-year, $169.5 million contract extension in 2019 and is on sale for $31.6 million this season, a figure that rises to $38.6 million in the end of the agreement.
(Also, it should be noted that the Kings did not want Tobias Harris back as part of the Simmons deal, by Sam Amick of The Athletic. The Sixers are said to have tried to tie Harris into some Simmons trade, but big contract would be a major obstacle in any discussion.)
So what now?
Simmons will be the most notable name as the trade deadline approaches, but it is likely he will stay on Philadelphia’s roster through the end of the season. In a recent newsletter, NBA insider Marc Stein explains why Morey might put Simmons on hold until the summer:
Perhaps he has also been sold to a concept that executives with a growing number of rival teams say they see as Morey’s new favorite scenario: Keeping Simmons past the deal deadline to exhaust every last possibility to make a complicated signing and deal in the off-season. eventually brought James Harden to Philadelphia and brought Simmons to Brooklyn.
Complicated is a polite description for such a deal, as the Sixers will find it difficult to get Harden involved through signing and trade and will therefore have to take more pay cuts than just Simmons’ contract under the rules. the league’s luxury tax. make it work financially. It should be noted, however, that there is enough noise circulating throughout the league about Harden’s reported move in this summer – after he turned down a tempting extension from the Nets in October – to bring give Morey the encouragement he’s been waiting for.
Harden is clearly on a different level from Fox or Haliburton, and he will significantly raise the ceiling of the Sixers. But pursuing him also brings with it a different set of challenges and questions.
Harden really available? Can 76ers figure out how to build that deal? Are they willing to take a big zero from Simmons’ spot on the roster while Joel Embiid is performing at MVP level right now?
Yes, the story continues.
