Ben Simmons Reps & Sixers Brass Have Met. No Trade Demand…Yet
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski The Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey met with Ben Simmons representatives in Chicago during the pre-draft combine. In the meeting was Ben Simmons agent Rich Paul, who also reps stars like Lebron James and Anthony Davis. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future regarding the two sides.
One of the talking points was whether or not it made sense for the Sixers and Simmons to part ways via a trade. But Wojnarowski states that no trade request was made at this time. The Sixers are reportedly committed to keep Simmons a part of the franchise and fixing what went wrong with the former All-Star in the past 3 months.
This does appear like an obvious change of scenery scenery. And Rich Paul has a propensity to facilitating trades for his clients to Los Angeles. But Simmons still have 4 years and $147 million dollars owed to him. Finding a trade partner, who would give the Sixers CLOSE to equal value (whatever that is at this point) wont be easy.
Teams are reportedly using the pre-draft combine to gauge the Sixers interest. And it would be foolish to think that the Sixers havent at least LISTENED to offers. Now its a matter of figuring out if the relationship is salvageable/if Simmons can be fixed in a market like Philadelphia and a team like the Sixers. Simmons was one of the few players who seemed to regress in Doc Rivers system. Doc Rivers though isnt ready to cut bait.
Sixers remain committed to working through Simmons' shooting issues this summer, especially free throws. Doc Rivers and Simmons met to discuss plans for moving forward together, per sources. https://t.co/l0BBDk5RWS
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2021
