Philadelphia 76ers rumors: Ben Simmons’ trade value is “pretty high”

The talk of the town since the moment the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from postseason contention, many have speculated if Ben Simmons still has any trade value left to his name at all. Once viewed as a player who could have landed the Sixers James Harden, Simmons’ recent postseason performance (or lack thereof) has caused many to sour on the notion of him still having a considerable amount of value compared to the rest of the NBA.

However, according to a recent comment made by Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix on Bill Simmons’ “The Ringer” podcast, Ben Simmons still holds quite a bit of trade value around the league:

"“I hear from executives all the time that are loving this ‘Ben Simmons trade value has cratered’ conversation because they hope that Philadelphia believes that. I think his trade value is actually higher than what’s being publicly portrayed. But you’re going to continue to hear a lot of the negativity around Ben Simmons.“In other words, I think people value him pretty high across the league because I do think there’s a belief that someone’s going to figure the shooting thing out.”"

Kurt Helin of NBC Sports added the following when talking about what the soon-to-be former Philadelphia 76ers point guard can add to team interested in trading for him:

"Simmons is an All-Star player who averaged 14.3 points and 6.9 assists a game last season while finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting — he is still an outstanding player. One who brings a lot of value to the court.Morey is not going to trade low on him. It’s going to take an All-Star level player who would fit well with Joel Embiid to get into the conversation.Simmons’ next team needs to build up his confidence, get him focused on improving his shooting and trusting it, but also putting him in positions where he can succeed on the court (and build confidence with that). Get the man the ball in his hands in transition. His next team is still getting an All-Star player who can help them win games, even if all fans may remember is the passed-up dunk. NBA executives should be able to see past that."

The market for Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons is better than you think.

Both Mannix and Helin hit the nail on the head in their comments, and we are already seeing Simmons’ above average value reveal itself on the open market. The Indiana Pacers reportedly offered Malcolm Brogdon and a first-round pick to Philadelphia for Simmons, an offer that Daryl Morey swiftly rejected.

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That’s a pretty strong starting price for a player who many have deemed “broken” after his recent second-round struggles against the Atlanta Hawks.

Simmons is a unique player with a unique skillset, but there are a number of teams around the NBA who would kill for a multi-time All-Star with DPOY potential. While Philly obviously views their second-round exit as a monumental collapse, many smaller market franchises would view making it past the first round as a major success.

A team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have already been intensely linked to Simmons, haven’t won a playoff series since 2004.

Jumper or no jumper, all the signs unquestionably point to Daryl Morey being able to illicit a pretty fair return for Simmons when it comes to a looming trade.