Let’s be honest, the Ben Simmons situation has gone on for way too long at this point. Neither side is going to budge on their stance, and in reality, this issue could drag on for years. Most would hope Simmons is traded by the NBA trade deadline, but who knows at this point.
Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey has been adamant about getting an All-Star-caliber player in return for Simmons. But as Simmons continues to miss games and not report to the Sixers, his value dips lower and lower. Sooner or later, Morey might be forced to accept less than he originally wanted.
Opposing teams aren’t jumping out of the gates to offer Morey an All-Star talent in exchange for a player who hasn’t played the game of basketball at a professional level in six months.
Yes, Simmons is almost assuredly still his Defensive Player of the Year self, but teams don’t know that for sure. That’s scary.
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One team that could afford to take a chance on Simmons is the Houston Rockets. They’re going nowhere fast this season and are in full-on rebuild mode. If they wanted to trade away some of their assets in exchange for a guy who could potentially be a face of the franchise, why not?
The real question is, what would the Philadelphia 76ers want from Houston? What sort of package could the Houston Rockets put together in an attempt to get Morey to bite? Better yet, why should Houston be interested in a deal if they could trade for someone who has been playing this season already?