To deal or not to deal, that is the question for the Philadelphia 76ers in regards to Ben Simmons. Three All-Star appearances, being named to the All-Defensive team twice and the All-NBA team once in just four seasons playing on the court is quite an impressive resume for the Sixers’ young 7-footer, but at the end of the day, scoring is the name of the game in the league today and Simmons does not really aid them in that category.
After losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past season, a lot of the blame was put on Ben Simmons and for good reason. He is not the sole reason why Philly lost this series, but after averaging just 9.9 points per game and shooting 33.3% from the free-throw line in this series, I can see why fans of the 76ers would be upset with Simmons.
The narrative of him not being able to shoot and not being able to score outside of right underneath the basket has been well documented for years now and while it does not seem Simmons has made the effort to get better, it does not seem like the Philadelphia 76ers have tried to help him get better either.
All the fault cannot be thrown onto Simmons for what has transpired in Philadelphia over the last year or so, but at the same time, something needs to be done to make this team a true championship contender.
Joel Embiid is an MVP-caliber player and Tobias Harris is playing the best basketball of his career, but they need that third key scorer/talent in order to be true threats against the Nets, Bucks and now the Heat. Ben Simmons has not been that “third key guy” for Philly, which is why they have interest in moving him.
The 76ers have fielded multiple offers for Simmons and have proposed multiple offers including him to other teams over the last couple of months, but they have not come close to making a deal yet. Could that change though if the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors look to put together a multi-team deal?
Sacramento is extremely high on Ben Simmons and they have been trying to add him for weeks now, but the 76ers have been unwilling to take on a trade package of some draft picks, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III.
There is definitely value to be had from the Kings in a deal including Simmons, but it seems like they are missing that one extra element that 76ers are looking for. Toronto can add that element onto the trade package for Simmons, making for a very intriguing and hypothetical three-team trade to break down in-depth.