Stein: Sixers remain intent on convincing Ben Simmons to be at camp
It is officially one week away from media day for the Philadelphia 76ers and then training camp beginning the next day at the team’s facility in Camden, NJ and the focus remains on what is going to happen with Ben Simmons.
The 25-year old 3-time All-Star requested a trade recently and he also threatened to sit out of camp. The Sixers have been trying to remain patient in these talks as they look to get fair value back for such a young and talented player and they want to have Simmons at camp in order to at least have him play in some games.
Per veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein and his power rankings, the Sixers remain intent on trying to bring him into camp at some point due to the fact that there really is not a trade to be had for him right now:
They don’t have a trade for Simmons and they’re starting the season with a cloud, a tension, an awkwardness so that’s why I dropped them to 10. I mean they’re kind of a mess right now and we’re gonna have to see how this thing plays out. The teams that are registering interest in Ben Simmons are not teams that the Sixers want to engage with…I think Media Day is September 27, camps open September 28. Is Ben Simmons going to be there? Do the Sixers what him there? I can’t see a Ben trade materializing here in the next 10-12 days so that they’ve got immediate tension to confront in Philly there.
The expectation remains, one week out from 76ers media day, that Ben Simmons will choose not to report to the team's training camp, league sources say. But the Sixers, sources say, remain intent on trying to convince Simmons to report.
More NBA from me at https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 20, 2021
It has been said here before, but Philadelphia’s best bet at this moment in time is probably to mend the fences with him and bring him back until at least December when more of the league will be available for trades. It is so tough to move a star player of his caliber in September, October, and November of a normal season.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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