Philadelphia 76ers: Patience will prevail in Ben Simmons trade talks

The 2021 NBA Draft has come and gone, and Ben Simmons remains a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Many were viewing the draft as a venue that would help facilitate a move for the 3x All-Star point guard, but such an outcome failed to take place. Instead, the Sixers had a relatively uneventful evening, making all three of their selections.

While some left the draft feeling rather underwhelmed with the lack of action from the Sixers’ front office, the patience that Daryl Morey and company were willing to display — and are still willing to display — is ultimately a very good thing for the team’s longterm goal of building a championship contender. Even with Simmons himself reportedly welcome to the idea of receiving a fresh start this offseason, there’s little reason for Morey to jump at trade offers.

As things currently stand, the Sixers have reportedly been asking for a package similar to what the Rockets received for James Harden this past year. A war chest of draft picks, swaps, and young talent. While that may seem unreasonable to those who are still getting flashbacks of Simmons clanking free throws off the back rim during the postseason, it’s a fair starting point for the Philadelphia 76ers to begin at.

Remove his recent postseason struggles, Simmons is still an extremely valuable asset compared to the rest of the league. A multi-time All-Star who’s a consistent DPOY candidate, who is also under team control through 2024 — many fringe playoff teams would kill for that caliber of a player.

The Philadelphia 76ers are correct to play the waiting game when it comes to the looming Ben Simmons trade.

Thus far, the Philadelphia 76ers have failed to find a suitor willing to meet their lofty demands, but there’s no reason to rush things. The ultimate goal for Philly is landing either Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal at some point this summer, and until their markets become clearer, there’s little reason for Philly to give away their top trade asset.

If Lillard and/or Beal do end up requesting trades, then the Sixers would be in pretty strong position to pursue them. A hypothetical trade package of Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, Tyrese Maxey, and multiple first-round picks and pick swaps would likely be enough to get a deal done.

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If the Sixers go out and trade Simmons for a B-tier player like Malcolm Brogdon, De’Aaron Fox, CJ McCollum, or even Andrew Wiggins, not only would they be actively making their roster worse, but they’d be severely limiting their ability to pursue a superstar type talent later down the road.

While many left the Hawks series feeling like the Sixers rostering any other guard besides Ben Simmons would’ve resulted in a series win, it’s in all honesty not that simple. Simmons was still a top rebounder for Philly last year, and was by far their best defender and passer. The goal should not be to dump him for scraps, it should be to use his value to acquire a legit superstar type talent.

Until that opportunity presents itself, Daryl Morey should continue along with his current strategy of patiently waiting until a team feels ambitious enough to meet his aggressive trade demands.