It’s been months since Ben Simmons made clear that he wanted out of thePhiladelphia 76ers, leading to one of the longest stand-offs in recent times. The 2021-22 NBA season is well underway and he hasn’t played a single minute yet.
Everything went south when the Sixers suffered a tough elimination at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in last season’s playoffs. Simmons was blasted for his performances and there was no turning back.
However, the franchise has been unwilling to let him leave so easily, establishing demanding conditions to accept any trade. But it looks crystal clear his future will no longer be in Philly and new teams could emerge as possible destinations for Simmons.
NBA Trade Rumors: Cavaliers could be ‘team to watch’for Ben Simmons
According to ESPN insiderAdrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers could join the Ben Simmons trade conversation to try and land the Australian. This is what he said, as quoted by Adam Hermann of NBC Sports:
“Ben Simmons in Philadelphia, I think you’ll start to see the 76ers re-engage teams. Certainly he is no closer to agreeing to come back to play with the Sixers this season, and they don’t have any real traction on a trade yet. Trade deadline is Feb. 10, and you can expect teams who’ve been engaged with Philly previously – Indiana, Sacramento, Minnesota among them.
“But here’s an interesting team to watch: the Cleveland Cavaliers, who before they went on this really incredible start to the season, had been engaged with Philly on Simmons. They’ve got some really intriguing assets, either in a straight deal or perhaps a three- or four-team deal. It was reported earlier J.B. Bickerstaff agreed to a new extension today through 2026-27. This is a team in Cleveland that’s just a game out of third place.
“Philly’s a team right now, in that bunched up East, who could be out of the play-in with a couple of losses, the way it’s bunched up. So expect Philly to start talking more with teams as we get closer to that Feb. 10 deadline, and it will be interesting to see if Cleveland re-engages as a team that I think’s built for long-term success with all their young players. Ben Simmons is only 25 years old; he does fit into the timeline of that team.”
It’s interesting to note that Woj mentioned there’s not “any real traction on a trade yet.” This is just a possible scenario, as the Cavs could fancy their chances of boosting their roster with a player like Simmons.
Not much Ben Simmons trade talk inthe league, Marc Stein says
In line with what Wojnarowski said before citing the Cavaliers as a “team to watch,”Marc Stein saidon the latest episode of his podcast “Spotify Greenroom” thatthere has not been much buzz on Ben Simmonsduring the G League Showcase in Las Vegas.
“I have to say just having spent three days in the gym with lots of NBA executives… I heard so little about Ben Simmons in Vegas. Just remarkably little,” he said, as quoted by Fadeaway World. “That just illustrates, to me, just what a secondary thing trade pursuits are at the moment whereas normally, I think in that kind of environement, even if there was nothing happening with Ben, just kind of Ben predictions would have been flying around the gym and you just really didn’t get much of that.”
The monthsgo by and the Ben Simmons saga continues to havelittle updates. Few things have changed so far, but maybe we can keep an eye on what the Cavaliers could do in the upcoming weeks.
