The Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons seem to be on a collision course toward a nasty divorce as the two sides seem hell-bent on moving on after another tough postseason performance for the All-Star guard.
The situation has gotten messy since Simmons formally requested a trade back on Aug. 31 and he has since threatened to not play in another game for the Sixers until a trade is made. With training camp right around the corner, Philadelphia needs to act fast and get a deal done to avoid any potential conflicts within the team.
While coach Doc Rivers is hoping that they can convince him to stay, it does seem as if that is not possible at this moment in time. Therefore, president Daryl Morey and the rest of the front office need to figure something out quickly.
One option that was seemingly on the table is the Golden State Warriors, but they have expressed concern in the past over acquiring him due to having Draymond Green on the roster. Managing partner Joe Lacob has since confirmed those concerns and that they are basically out on any Simmons deals.
Lacob told the San Francisco Chronicle:
“In some ways, it doesn’t really fit what we’re doing. He makes a lot of money. And, can he finish games? I don’t know,” Lacob said. “He’s very talented. The problem is: We have Draymond. Draymond and him are very similar in the sense that neither one really shoots and they do a lot of the playmaking. That’s one issue. The salary structure is another.”
Lacob has a good point about Simmons’ finishing ability. Can he be counted on to be out there? The Sixers had to take him off the floor towards the end of Game 7 as they could not count on him to be an offensive weapon.
There will be teams out there willing to take a chance on a talent like Simmons, but there is always that huge question mark of will he be able to eventually shoot the basketball and grow his offensive game? Nobody knows the answer to that just yet and it could chase some teams away.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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