Ben Simmons could be on his way out of the Philadelphia 76ers much sooner than later, now that Daryl Morey has fixed his asking price.
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It goes without saying that Ben Simmons was solely responsible for the most entertaining offseason trade drama in 2021. The 25-year-old has simply put his foot down in every manner possible.
There seems to be no end in sight for the Sixers to this episode without a trade being pulled. Ben Simmons has paid nearly half a season’s worth of salary in fines thus far. Rich Paul and Ben seem in no mood to relent any time during the near future.
A number of teams have been linked to the young star, who can still be effective in the right situation. However, Daryl Morey is in no mood to downgrade the talent on his roster and hurt Joel Embiid’s championship chances.
Morey has proved his resolve by not even entertaining trade talks for Simmons for a level of target below what he has envisioned. Or so it seemed, at least until very recently.
However, a respected Sixers beat writer thought to have an ear with the front office and management believes that Ben Simmons could truly finally be on the move.
Who are these top-25 players for whom Daryl Morey could trade Ben Simmons from the 76ers?
Jason Dumas has been one of the most well-informed Sixers beat writers over the years. While his speculations with regards to Daryl Morey’s trade targets have often proved to be faulty in the past, there is reason to believe in his latest update on this situation.
Source: Daryl Morey has broadened his scope for potential trade targets as he looks to trade Ben Simmons. He had been adamant on only trading Ben for a select few players. I’m told there’s now a list of 25 guys who he’d accept straight up or in a package.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) January 6, 2022
A list of 25 guys is still way more vague than what we would expect at this point. Simmons has been shopped for over 6 months now, ever since he passed that dunk on Trae Young up.
At this point, any value that the Sixers recoup from their All-Star will be a bonus. Ben Simmons will probably hug the bench all 4 years if push comes to shove. He’s moved on in personal life himself, getting engaged to British TV news anchor Maya Jama this December.