Ben Simmons wouldn’t hold up a trade to the Kings.
The staring contest between Ben Simmons and the Sixers brass has continued for multiple months now, even with the NBA season set to tip-off in less than two weeks.
Some new information pertaining to the possibility of a Simmons to the Kings came out Friday in The Athletic’s roundtable by experienced NBA reporter David Aldridge.
In a roundtable, he mentions that Simmons would have “no problem” getting sent to the Kings in a potential trade:
I’ve written this on Simmons to Sac before, and the rationale still holds. Simmons is an elite defensive player. He’s an elite passer. He has four years left on his deal. (He would have no problem going to Sacramento, I’m told, so strong is his desire to get out of Philadelphia.)
Earlier this summer, reporting came out that Simmons was interested in coming to three different California teams, leaving Kings fans to speculate that they were likely not on that list.
Aldridge mentions that the Kings’ current backcourt log jam could be fixed if the Kings sent one of Tyrese Haliburton or Davion Mitchell as the main piece in a Simmons trade.
Sam Amick, also of The Athletic, reported earlier this summer that the Sixers asking price was too steep for the Kings and that the team was refusing to part with either De’Aaron Fox or Haliburton in a potential Simmons deal.
Mitchell, however, was not mentioned in that reporting, so it will be interesting to see if he could end up as the centerpiece of a Simmons deal. Buddy Hield’s name was also included as a guy that the Sixers should have interest in as a potential fit spotting up around their franchise centerpiece Joel Embiid.
At a certain point, the Simmons saga has to come to a conclusion. Sixers general manager Daryl Morey will have to accept an offer below his exorbitant asking price or Simmons, or a team will pony up. Until this happens though, this staring contest will continue.