Following several months of back-and-forth, big headlines, and endless rumors, it looks like the Philadelphia 76ers will finally trade Ben Simmons soon. Unsurprisingly, a number of teams have been linked with the 25-year-old, including the Los Angeles Lakers .
December 15, which marks an important date on the NBA calendar as players who signed their contracts in the last free agency will become available for trade, is drawing nearer and teams all over the league are already identifying their opportunities.
Simmons is undoubtedly one of the big names on the market and the Sixers may believe it’s the right moment to get another All-Star caliber player in exchange. Meanwhile, the Lakers don’t look happy with Russell Westbrook either. Will they consider swapping these stars?
NBA Trade Rumors: This is where the Sixers stand on a potential Simmons – Westbrook trade
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Lakers are considering trading Russell Westbrook after his slow start in LA. However, his massive contract will probably notmake things easy if they finally decide to look for trade partners.
“There are simply few players aside from John Wall, for whom Westbrook was traded to Washington last summer, who are available for trade and come close to Westbrook’s earnings,“ Fischer wrote.
“One of those players is Ben Simmons. The Athletic reported Los Angeles’ interest in Simmons on Monday, and Westbrook’s salary, outside of James’ and Davis’, is the only number on the Lakers’ books that can match Simmons’ own lofty deal. Even then, Westbrook is not a player on the Sixers’ list of hopeful returns, league sources told B/R, and conversations with the Lakers never developed very far.“
It seems that Philadelphia will prefer to wait for another alternative rather thanexchanging Simmons for the first big-name player that comes their way. And they’re not to blame. Westbrook wouldn’t bea bad replacement, but they can do better .
Even though they need to resolve Simmons’ situation once and for all, a number of teams will be interested in landing the Australian, so there’s no need to rush. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Los Angeles will actually try to move on Westbrook.