The Philadelphia 76ers are at an impasse with All-Star Ben Simmons. The embattled star has told the organization he does not intend to play another game for the franchise that made him the No. 1 pick in 2016.
As training camp approaches, the Sixers are looking for a deal that brings in equal value which will be very difficult at this point. Philadelphia was hoping Simmons would show up at some point in camp and figure it out from there.
The Sixers could go the route of heavily fining and suspending him, but Simmons and his camp are fully prepared for that and are not worried about it. Therefore, a trade could be looming.
A new trade suggestion by TrueHoop has the Sixers sending Simmons to the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal, which would make president Daryl Morey pretty happy:
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Washington gets an All-Star the right age for its roster. The Sixers get one of the best scorers in the league. They would still need a point guard, but Morey is incredible at solving such problems.
Those two GMs know each other, and know this deal works for both teams—and nothing has happened. Yet. Maybe that’s because Beal has other ideas. Perhaps the Wiz want more than Simmons. Maybe the Wizards want whoever gets Beal to also take Davis Bertans and the $65 million he’s owed over four years. But it’s a lock that Morey would love to have Beal, and other than Lillard, won’t sign off on any other trade without one last call to the nation’s capital.
If the Sixers can snag Beal, that would be an excellent scenario, but just like the Damian Lillard situation in Portland, the Wizards are not going to just trade Beal. He is loyal to Washington, and, despite his frustrations, he has not requested a trade.
The Sixers were hoping to remain patient in trade talks for Simmons in hopes of Beal or Lillard becoming available, but they might not have that luxury anymore.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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