Sources: The Philadelphia 76ers have opened up trade conversations surrounding three-time All-Star Ben Simmons and have engaged with teams.
Full details and more on Inside Pass at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/sdjV49uw3h
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 13, 2021
One would think that the morning after a dazzling Home Run Derby that the majority of conversations would surround Trey Mancini’s heroic performance or even Shohei Ohtani’s disappointing effort. But, as we’ve learned from major media, the chance to ignite the Twittersphere about anything regarding Philadelphia sports is the number 1 priority.
Shams just tweeted out the above article, which really says nothing new – at all – about the Sixers “opening up” trade talks about Ben. What does this really mean? It means the Sixers are doing exactly what any other team in their situation should be doing. No, this does not mean that Ben is about to get traded this week. Or next week. Or maybe even this off-season.
The hope is that a team is willing to overpay for Ben and honestly, this is a great situation for the Sixers to be in. For an initial offer to be Malcolm Brogdon and a first after the media portrayed Ben as having “no trade value” is a sign of what is to come the rest of this Summer: Speculation, false claims, and uncertainty.
But that is what we have come to expect as fans of the Philadelphia 76ers. Every single season we come in thinking things will be different: Can Joel stay healthy? Will Ben take the next step and shoot the ball? Can we win a championship without a true PG?
No matter what, these questions are not going to go away for this upcoming season. Personally, I think Ben needs to go somewhere else to flourish and become the player we all know he can be. As much as that sucks, it’s the truth. That doesn’t mean we just get rid of him to get rid of him, though.
It means that right now – yes, right now – the Sixers have to act as if they’re in the driver’s seat. They are more knowledgeable on Ben’s abilities than anyone else out there. And if they’re not confident that Ben is going to become the Top 5 player in this league that I think everyone sees the potential for, it’s time to evaluate other options.
Here is a list of players (in no particular order) that I would be willing to trade Ben for (obviously not straight up but these are all players I’d like to see come back to the Sixers):
Damian Lillard (please, please, please)
Collin Sexton (and most likely Kevin Love)
CJ McCollum
Zach Lavine
Bradley Beal (not sure how this would work but one can dream)