It's one thing to hope for the best. It's another to blindly believe in fairy tales.
Somehow, Daryl Morey has been able to string along a good portion of the Sixers fan base into the latter as the NBA trade deadline approaches.
The Ben Simmons trade saga appears to have no end in sight, and Morey's insistence on acquiring a needle-moving, championship-altering return for a player not worthy of that return remains the biggest obstacle to the Sixers organization moving forward. It's one thing to ask for the moon and the stars. It's another thing to actually hold the franchise hostage until that kind of demand is met.
Morey's insistence on a special return for Simmons was a nice idea. Unfortunately, the NBA marketplace has spoken. Simmons isn't worth that return, and the idea of his value increasing as time progresses is laughable. The Sixers have a home for sale with big cracks in the foundation. Not one prospective buyer has met the asking price. Morey's bright idea to solve the issue: Threaten to take the home off the market, and put it back on for as much or more at a later date.
Good luck!
Then there's the matter of circumstances changing, and another avenue possible for a strong-willed general manager to travel down.
Joel Embiid is having an MVP-caliber season. We can disagree on the approach Morey is taking. You can believe in the conviction and stubbornness of Philadelphia's most important basketball decision maker. You can convince yourself that a star is going to want Philadelphia and that player's team is going to agree to take back Simmons.
But what you can't do is pretend this Embiid season is worth wasting.
Maybe The Process broke our collective fan brain. Maybe we spend too much time on the internet. Maybe we're just lying to ourselves. But the whole idea of drafting, developing and being patient with a player like Joel Embiid was for this right now. It was to watch him healthy, dominant and as a true NBA MVP candidate. I'm not interested in wasting this Embiid season in the hope of a better tomorrow. This may be Embiid's peak. Refusing to improve the team now through the best Simmons deal possible in the hope of a better return down the line is reckless, especially when the entire franchise is built around a big man that's never stayed healthy and played like this at the same time. Sometimes, today has to matter just as much as tomorrow. The Sixers have one of the five best players in the NBA right now, and an Eastern Conference that is far from decided. Willingly playing short handed for the rest of this Embiid season should be considered organization malpractice.
Plus, why can't Morey do what he rose to fame in Houston doing? Morey's modus operandi with the Rockets was trades and churning the roster. He never sat back. He was aggressive, hoping to turn the roster over in the constant pursuit of making it slightly better. That same approach could be used to make the Sixers better now and still chase a star this summer or down the line.
Say, the Kings are willing to part with Tyrese Haliburton or the Hawks with John Collins. Neither are superstars. Both are good young players that would give the team more now than Simmons is. Both would (even slightly) increase this team's title odds now and give Embiid help. Both would hold value across the league this summer. If a special mix came together, perhaps the Sixers would move forward with that kind of return. But if not, there would be nothing stopping Morey from packaging those kinds of players along with picks for a star this summer. The Sixers can have their cake and eat it too. It's not rocket science.
Then, of course, there are 'James Harden wants to play for the Sixers!' rumors. I don't buy it, and am disappointed so many can't see through this nonsense. Earlier this month, former NBA general manager Ryan McDonough joined The Wip Evening Show to talk Simmons and trade rumors. When asked what percentage of rumors we hear are rooted in fact, he laughed and said very little.
Harden to the Sixers hocus pocus is clearly very little, and a ploy by all sides to get what they want.
The allusion of Harden having his heart set on playing with Joel Embiid (despite not choosing the Sixers last winter when reportedly presented the chance to choose his destination) does the following:
1. Creates urgency for teams to up their best offer for Simmons by the trade deadline, benefiting both the team that wants him out and Simmons' quest to exit Philadelphia ASAP.
2. Pushes the Nets to not waver on the fully guaranteed super max, something that could be tricky considering Harden's age and recent lack of durability.
Too many big name reporters and talking heads suddenly had the same story this week, which should have raised our eyebrows. That's especially true when considering that only three teams (Magic, Pistons and Spurs) are set to have max cap space this summer. Sign and trade leverage for the player only works if the player can threaten to walk away while the team gets nothing back. The Nets can easily call Harden's bluff. Any deal to a contender he tries to initiate will have to come through a sign-and-trade. The idea of the Nets willingly taking back Ben Simmons and giving Morey his guy is laughable.
I don't trust Morey, and I'm not sure why so many in this city do. We're talking about an executive that's never built a championship roster in his career. This isn't Jerry West. The track record says good, not special.
Morey isn't at fault for Simmons' contract. He didn't refuse to dunk the ball last June. But Morey's task is to clean it up and move the Sixers closer to title contention. Misreading the market for this player and living on the hopes and dreams of a star demanding to come to Philadelphia isn't a strategy.
Here's hoping I'm wrong, Morey is right and something great will occur for the Sixers. But if (or when) that doesn't occur, let's reserve our trust in this executive until he earns it.
