“Daryl Morey reveals why the Sixers loved Ben Simmons”: The Philly team’s President calls the former ROTY an unbelievable defender, hoping things could have worked out differently

Sixers President Daryl Morey gives his flowers to Ben Simmons, adding he hoped things had panned out differently.

The Ben Simmons saga in Philadelphia is finally over, with the Sixers closing a deal with the Brooklyn Nets that would send Simmons in exchange for James Harden. Simmons’ stint in Philly had an ugly ending, affecting both the parties involved.

However, the architect behind this trade Daryl Morey still holds Simmons in high regard. During a recent conversation with Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd, Morey heaped praises of his former point guard. However, Morey believed that the Simmons-Harden trade was a win-win situation.

Morey and Harden share a close association from their days in Houston. The two achieved tons of success working under the Rockets organization, evolving Harden into one of the all-time greats. According to Morey, this was the perfect design for a trade.

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During a recent appearance on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, Morey spoke about the importance of Simmons on the defensive side of schemes.

Daryl Morey gives the reasons behind why the Sixers loved Ben Simmons.

The 76ers are currently 11th in the league when it comes to defense compared to the 2020-21 season, where they were at the 2nd position. One of the reasons behind this fall was the absence of the 2021 runner-up for DPOY Simmons.

The Philly organization tried everything within their reach to get Simmons on board but failed, leading to a string of controversies. Now that the dust has finally settled, Sixers President Morey opened up on the three-time All-Star being a valuable piece to them.

While talking to Cowherd about the importance of length on the roster, Morey said.

“I think what you’re describing is why we loved Ben Simmons like he is a very good player. That is why you know, we would have preferred this wouldn’t have happened. It obviously happened but having his ability to rebound, set the pace, deflections. I mean, he’s an unbelievable defender.”

(6:50 mark)

As Morey rightly said, NBA commissioner Adam Silver couldn’t be happier with this trade, for it gave two good players who wanted to be in a new situation the best solution.

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