Though there still figures to be a good handful of suitors for Ben Simmons as the Philadelphia 76ers seek a trade, we might want to temper our expectations that a deal will get done soon. Most of us have already done that, in fact. But the latest report, this one from CBS Sports NBA writer Michael Kaskey-Blomain, indicates that a trade might have to wait until after the regular season is already underway.
This complicates things a little bit. Obviously, it would be a good thing if Simmons joined the team to start the season, did what he usually did — which is play well in the regular season and show off his defensive prowess and non-shooting offensive capabilities — and brought his trade value back up. That's what ESPN's Jordan Schultz seems to think will happen.
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"We're back to Ben Simmons," Schultz said on Wednesday's episode of "First Take" on ESPN. "Now, I don't think it's going to happen tonight. I've been told around the league Ben Simmons will get traded. But Philadelphia — Daryl Morey specifically — feels like, let's let his stock come back to earth a little bit. It dipped so much, it plummeted, during the playoffs."
Sure, in theory, this works out well. But we've also heard reports saying that Simmons has "cut communication with the 76ers" and, according to Kendrick Perkins, is "willing not to report to training camp."
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So if trade talks have stalled and Philly will look to have him on the roster and potentially bring his value back up, but Simmons will sit out of camp and isn't talking with the team... what's going to happen then?
Perhaps they're just going to keep trying and trying and trying up until that point. NBA insider Shams Charania, who is as plugged in as anybody around the league, said that they're doing exactly that.
"The Sixers started conversations a few weeks before the draft with teams on trying to figure out which offer might be the best," Charania said Thursday. "I think they made some headway with some teams, but at the end of the day, they don't have a deal done. I'm told they're continuing to talk to teams.
"Minnesota is one of the most interested teams in Ben Simmons, but a package with them would require a third team and those deals aren't easy. So what I would expect is a climax to this situation to occur closer to the start of training camp, because that's when there's going to be pressure.
"Are you going to want to bring Ben Simmons into training camp? Are you going to want to try to get something done before camp starts? I think that's where we see all this stuff start to climax."
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