Philadelphia 76ers: Rumored Kings’ trade offer for Ben Simmons is a dud

Following a recent report by NBA insider Shams Charania, the noise around a potential Ben Simmons trade has started to heat up just a tad. The Philadelphia 76ers have made it clear that they’d like to receive an “All-Star caliber player” in return, but that hasn’t stopped a handful of teams from poking around to see if they can poach Simmons away for cheap.

The Minnesota Timberwolves got involved early, and were posturing that they’d like to acquire Simmons without giving up one of their core players, and now it appears the Sacramento Kings are attempting to do the same. In a recent report made by The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson, the Kings are looking to offer a package built around the likes of Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III, and draft composition:

Now obviously, neither Hield nor Bagley III are All-Stars, and a collection of first-round picks only helps the Sixers if they’re looking to pursue an additional trade on top of moving Simmons – making this whole trade proposal a bit of a non-starter on Philadelphia’s side of the equation.

Philly fans have long been infatuated with Buddy due to his elite three-point shooting ability, but adding him to the roster really only made sense if it was to join the likes of Simmons. Hield is pretty strictly a spot-up shooter – he’s not the type of player who’s able to consistently generate his own shot, and he can’t “run the offense” like a true point guard could.

Bagley III would be a solid backup big behind the likes of Embiid (which is a genuine need), but not nearly valuable enough to justify parting ways with Simmons.

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When looking at a potential trade with the Kings, there’s really only two players who should interest the likes of Daryl Morey: De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haiburton. Fox would be a fun fit alongside Embiid due to his elite quickness and ball handling ability, but isn’t the greatest of perimeter shooters. Haliburton flashed a ton of potential during his rookie season, but making him the big offseason acquisition would be quite the gamble for the Philadelphia 76ers.

There’s no telling if Haliburton will continue to develop or what his “prime” will look like, which doesn’t adequately line up with Embiid’s current window.

Thus far, Sacramento hasn’t made either player available in trade discussions, so it’s all a rather pointless hypothetical.

The Kings’ recent trade package for Ben Simmons should be viewed as a complete “non-starter” for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Circling back to the Hield/Bagley III package, there’s little reason for Morey to continue negotiating with the Kings if that’s the best they have to offer. Simmons is still an incredibly valuable asset, and flipping him for lesser talent solely for the sake of getting rid of him would do more harm than good for Philly. Morey needs to be patient this offseason and wait for an offer that actually sees his team land an elite perimeter scorer.