76ers Basketball Executive President Daryl Morey believes Ben Simmons’ trade ahead of this season’s trade deadline is “less likely.”
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“I think it’s less likely,” Morey said of a Simmons transaction coming up before the Feb. 10 trading deadline. “I hope I was wrong, there will be no lack of effort… Tango takes two or three and trading is difficult to build in this league.”
The ongoing saga doesn’t appear to be near a resolution as Simmons continues to sit out games for Philadelphia, and the team remains steadfast in its desire to reclaim the top 25 players for three All-Star appearances. According to reports, Simmons is said to be ready to sit out the whole season if he is not traded.
The 76ers have maintained two views: They want Simmons back on the team and play or they will just trade him for a top 25 player.
The February 10 trade deadline is fast approaching and Morey, speaking to 97.5 The Fanatic’s Mike Missanelli Show on Thursday, hinted that no deal is imminent and that the 76ers remain open to clinging to their players. If the right deal does not come .
Morey emphasized the importance of getting a deal done so they can capitalize on Joel Embiid’s ability to play at MVP level in recent weeks.
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“We have to make sure that we do this right and that we move ourselves to a higher level of championship potential – and not just push ourselves from seventh best chance to maybe one. sixth best in the league,” he said. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
There have been many players rumored to be on the list of potential names the Sixers want back to defend their points, but Morey also said during his appearance that the list could have been expanded. , but again, any players the Sixers bring in, will need to supplement the core they already have.
“We can do that when we do the deal, it helps the team, it’s more relevant and maybe our future opportunities are still wide open because we get a number of project options. draft as part of it.So our odds are good enough this year, and we may have a draft pick or a young player who can help us in the future who may be able to help us in the future. development – like if we had a player of Maxey’s caliber back.
“We could say OK, we have a really solid player who may not be in the top 30, but he’s a little below that, plus a younger, more solid player than Joel that we’re playing. sitting, can grow into it. So it opens up more trading possibilities, if that makes sense.”
Simmons, who hasn’t played for the 76ers in more than 200 days, but Morey also believes the door isn’t closed for a potential reunion between the two and we could see Simmons in a 76ers jersey once again.
“I 100% believe he can play for us again, he’s almost the perfect player we could have to partner Joel Embiid,” Morey said. “People don’t understand how much of an impact he has… I think that’s why he continues to have major commercial interests.
