The 76ers’ season is right around the corner. Training camp begins in a few weeks, the first preseason game is October 4th, they added Andre Drummond as the back up center, and Ben Simmons is threatening to hold out after a trade demand.
The Sixers, who finished first in the Eastern Conference last season, are now just a few weeks out from entering the season with one of their highest paid players threatening to hold out. After one year of a new coach and new front office the team faces one of it’s biggest challenges, trading a disgruntled Simmons and trying to maintain their contender status.
Daryl and Elton have their work cut out for them. So, what are the 76ers options right now?
There are a couple routes the Sixers could take They could just give up and trade Ben for the best package available right now or allow him to hold out, sacrifice pay and go into the season with a disgruntled Ben while waiting for the perfect deal, one that I would guess Morey really wants. One for a superstar,
What would I do? haha I have no idea, and that’s why I’m glad I don’t have to figure it out. And luckily the team has seasoned veteran Daryl Morey as their President of Basketball Operations. Although he has been fairly quiet running the front office since he got here, he was rumored to be involved for trading for Harden but outside of that just some small tweaks during his tenure, he is no stranger to trading superstars or for superstars. James Harden, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, and Russell Westbrook are just a few names that Morey has traded for or traded. Now it’s Ben Simmons’ turn.
In my humble opinion, the biggest obstacle that Morey and Brand face in trading Ben is Joel Embiid. Seems like a weird problem to have, what does Joel have to do with Ben? Well, Joel is 27 coming off an MVP season and just entering his true prime. But the injury bug still lingering it’s ugly head with Joel, who played on a torn meniscus in the second round of the playoffs last season. It is clear at this point Joel is the future of the franchise after a full season of him being the primarily focus of the offense and being rewarded with a 4 year 196 million dollar extension, keeping him on the 76ers through the 2026-2027 season.
Again, what does Joel have to do with Ben? It puts the Sixers in a weird position I think. Can they afford to play hard ball with a Ben Simmons’ trade and go through a season with turmoil and 33 million in salary tied up in a guy who doesn’t want to be here anymore and may not even play? If we believe that you can’t waste Joel’s prime than that seems like a pretty awful idea but you also can’t trade Ben for pennies on the dollar and make the team worse.
So what the fuck do they do?
I would trade Ben before the start of the season. Let him hold out during camp and prepare as if Ben isn’t coming back. In the NBA when a player wants out they always eventually get what they want. Teams know he is available and there has been rumors that teams are interested. In fact, Brian Windhorst just said on Sixers Daily (a Liberty Ballers pod), that there is a dark horse small market team involved that hasn’t become public yet. The more teams interested the better. Teams like Toronto, Minnesota, Cleveland, Sacrament, and now a “small market dark horse” team are rumored to have interest. Morey can set a fake deadline (best and final offer by the start of the season) and let these teams bid each other up. Then take the best package at that time and move forward.
At this point I don’t see a Simmons trade returning a bonafide superstar. But in theory they could get some good young players with potential that would really help as additions around Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and hopefully future all star Tyrese Maxey! Maybe I am a little ahead of myself with Maxey but I really believe the kid is a baller and will be huge for this team going forward. For example, what if the dark horse team is San Antonio and they can get a package involving Dejotay Murray? That’s not a bad place to start and would improve a team that is not going to have Ben on it anyway.
It appears, unless something unforseen happens, that the Ben Simmons era in Philadelphia is over. The former number 1 pick wants out, the Sixers have underachieved in the playoffs with Joel and Ben the past few years, and it’s been made pretty clear since Daryl and Doc got here that this is Joel’s team. The returning package may be underwhelming to some, especially since a lot of fans had their eyes set on Dame, who currently is not asking out, but at some point you have to realize a bad investment and cut your losses.
As a fan of Simmons, although I am not a fan of how this off season is going, it does pain me to say that it’s time to move on. I don’t want to waste a season of Joel’s prime, a prime that can be very volatile given his injury history, with Ben Simmons’ trade drama. Joel was playing at such a high level last season, with no reason to believe that he will regress, that now is the time to strike the iron. It’s time to take that next step and compete for a trophy and punting on a season with a “star” player who doesn’t want to be here in hopes that you are going to get a slam dunk deal that may never happen, to me, seems irresponsible.
Get teams talking. Set a fake deadline. Let them drive the price up. And let the big man go get us a chip.