Unnamed, small-market team has trade interest in Sixers star Ben Simmons
The Philadelphia 76ers are still figuring out what to do with Ben Simmons as they try to find the best value they can. The 25-year-old All-Star has requested a trade and threatened a training camp holdout to get a deal done.
The Sixers, however, do not want to settle for any old trade for one of the better talents in the league. Philadelphia wants real value in return, and September, October and November are not the months that usually see that type of deal get done.
At this point, it is probably smarter to mend the fence with Simmons and try to move him in December when more of the league will be available in trade talks. Obviously, the Sixers do not want a distraction like the Jimmy Butler situation was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. But at this point, getting fair value in return will not happen until further into the season.
On the flip side, Simmons has told the Sixers it is not his job to increase his trade value, so that will cause friction. Philadelphia seemingly has its hands tied at the moment.
However, there apparently is one team out there that has some real interest in the embattled star. Per Brian Windhorst on “The Scoop” podcast (h/t HoopsHype):
I know of at least one other team who is a small market team that has made an offer and has a lot of interest and it just hasn’t gotten public yet.
As of this moment, the Timberwolves, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors are the three teams known to have the most interest in Simmons. Minnesota is unlikely to give up any of its stars for Simmons, which means it will probably drop out of the race at some point unless a third team gets involved.
Whoever this mystery team is, there has to be some type of All-Star value in return for the talented, yet maddening, star. The Sixers, in this case, will be losing one of the top 25 or 30 players in the league, and Philadelphia has to get at least some type of top draft compensation in return for him.
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