“Jamal Murray for Ben Simmons? Not sure if it’s more insulting for Jamal or for us”: Nuggets front office member spills beans on disgruntled Sixers point guard’s trade market

Ben Simmons seems to be getting stray shots from all angles this offseason. But then again, the idea of Jamal Murray being traded for him is preposterous.

Jamal Murray has played in 2 different postseason campaigns thus far. These involved 5 different playoff series opponents, all of whom felt the full force of his scoring punch.

Murray powered the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in the bubble playoffs with some vintage play. While he was incandescent all series long against Utah, he came up clutch against both the Clippers and the Lakers.

Ultimately, Jamal has sealed a reputation for himself as one of the league’s best playoff performers. After all, he is one of the few players in the league who’ve outperformed their regular season averages in the playoffs.

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A cursory glance at Ben Simmons’ record, on the other hand, shows a clear dip in his playoff stats relative to the regular season. He is a player who is incapable of taking a shot from anywhere above 16 feet out.

3 separate coaches have put the clamps on him with 3 different defensive systems over the past 4 years. This has led to his trade stock being at an all-time low. It is unclear what kind of package the Sixers can expect for him, but fair value is out the window.

Nuggets front office executive scoffs at the idea of Jamal Murray being traded for Ben Simmons

Given the huge disparities in the two players’ postseason performances, the idea of one of them being in a trade package for the other as an equal participant seems preposterous.

A number of whispers around the league, however, have been linking the Nuggets to Simmons of late. As was the case with Joe Lacob and the Warriors a few days ago, they’ve also washed their hands off Ben.

In the words of a front office executive, who would the Nuggets even trade for Ben?

Quick note: the general reaction from sources close to the Nuggets regarding reports that they are “frontrunners” for a Simmons deal is general confusion.

“Who would we even trade?” is a common refrain.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 26, 2021

I inquired about the suggested idea that Jamal Murray would be the centerpiece of a trade.

“Not sure if that’s more insulting to Jamal or us to be honest” was the response.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) September 26, 2021

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