A year after assuming the role as the Philadelphia 76ers‘ president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey is currently on a mission to find disgruntled superstar Ben Simmons a new home. Despite the strong efforts to convince him to stay, Morey must be aware of the fact that Simmons’ departure from the City of Brotherly Love is inevitable.
As of now, the only thing that he and his staff could do is to search for a deal that would allow them to extract the maximum value out of Simmons.
Ben Simmons Expected To Be A Multi-Team Deal
In a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst of ESPN discussed several topics, including the rumors involving Simmons and the Sixers. According to Windhorst, Morey could ask help from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and the Houston Rockets to facilitate a Simmons trade.
"There’s been a number of rumors that have gone around the league in the last few weeks about Ben Simmons trade involving the Morey quadrangular," Windhorst said, as quoted by Sixers Wire. "That would be Philadelphia, Minnesota, the Kings, and the Rockets."
Why Timberwolves, Kings & Rockets Would Help Sixers?
Aside from the fact that they are all rebuilding teams, the Timberwolves, Kings, and the Rockets have one thing in common – they have at least one person on their team who previously worked for Morey. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone, Kings general manager and president of basketball operations Monte McNair, and Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta were all under Morey’s command when he was still calling the shots in Space City.
Stone, McNair, and Gupta won’t definitely mind doing a favor for Morey as long as they would receive some compensation for helping him facilitate a Simmons trade.
Kings & Timberwolves Interested In Ben Simmons
While the Rockets are only expected to serve as a third team, the Kings and the Timberwolves are rumored to be exploring the possibility of adding Simmons to their roster. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Kings and the Timberwolves are among the seven NBA teams that have expressed a strong interest in acquiring Simmons from the Sixers before the 2022 NBA trade deadline.
Though they don’t have superstars like Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal, the Kings and the Timberwolves could still come up with intriguing packages for Simmons.
What The Kings & The Timberwolves Could Offer For Ben Simmons?
The Kings and Timberwolves’ success in acquiring Simmons depends on whether Morey is willing to lower his asking price or not. If he gives up on his dream of getting the likes of Lillard and Beal, the Sixers could settle for a trade package built around a player on the next tier, giving the Kings and the Timberwolves a better chance of engaging in a blockbuster deal.
If they are serious about adding Simmons, the Kings could offer De’Aaron Fox to the Sixers. Meanwhile, for the Timberwolves, a trade package centered on D’Angelo Russell may be enough to convince the Sixers to send Simmons to Minnesota.
]]>The Inquisitr
