The Ben Simmons saga remains at large casting a shadow over the upcoming February 10th trade deadline. A majority of teams have been rumored to be interested in the disgruntled All-Star but the Sacramento Kings have popped up more times than not when it comes to Simmons.
The Sixers have reportedly “canvassed the prospect” of a Simmons-De’Aaron Fox trade package “as recently as a few days ago,” but those talks are only “exploratory due diligence,” per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
Haynes added that Sacramento has received “an abundance of interest” in both Fox and Haliburton, but the “internal plan” is to build around that duo. Clearly, a talent like Simmons would make the Kings wonder if they could move Fox instead of Haliburton in a trade. The 24-year-old is averaging 20.9 points per game, 6.2 assists per game with a 45.7 field-goal percentage through 303 contests.
But it’s worth noting that players like Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis, and John Collins are not moving the needle for Philadelphia in Simmons trade talks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
What makes things even trickier is that Simmons’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, reportedly met with Sixers management, Daryl Morey, and Elton Brand, earlier this week to discuss the status of the ongoing stalemate between the two sides, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
But quite frankly, by no one’s surprise, the two sides’ stances remain unchanged as Simmons is no closer to playing this season. Philadelphia has indicated to other teams they “aren’t lowering the asking price” for their three-time All-Star, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix.
Sacramento hasn’t had a winning season since the 2005-06 season so they may have more to win than the Sixers have to lose in a potential deal center around Simmons.
