The Philadelphia 76ers are currently figuring out how to best handle the Ben Simmons saga as it continues to march on towards the Feb. 10 trade deadline. It is no secret that the Sixers what a king’s ransom for Simmons and they intend to stand firm on that stance.
Philadelphia is known to want a top 25 player in order to pair him up with Joel Embiid and continue their push towards a championship while Embiid is upright. The Sixers would rather wait to move Simmons in the offseason for James Harden, but they have also made some trade offers in order to try and win now while Embiid is playing at an elite level.
Per Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Sixers have reached out to both the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings in terms of getting a Simmons deal done.
Per Charania and Amick:
In return for Simmons, the 76ers have wanted a top-level All-Star or a package featuring a bevy of first-round draft picks for Simmons.
For Simmons, the 76ers have asked the Kings for guard Tyrese Haliburton and multiple first-round picks, and asked for a package around John Collins and multiple first-round picks from the Hawks along with Atlanta taking on Tobias Harris, multiple sources tell The Athletic. The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Kings do not plan to move De’Aaron Fox or Haliburton and want to build around them.
The Sixers have been looking for the right pieces to put around Embiid in order to help him continue to push this team toward a championship. When it comes to Sacramento, Haliburton would probably be the better fit rather than Fox and Collins is an interesting fit due to his elite athleticism and his ability to defend and knock down jumpers.
The Simmons saga is not going to end any time soon. At this point, the Sixers will have to make the decision to just sit on this and wait until the offseason if they believe they can get the value they believe they can get in return for Simmons. If Harden is in play, Philadelphia will have to make a run at him. It’s a no-brainer at that point.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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