As the NBA draws ever closer to its Feb. 10 trade deadline, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Ben Simmons won’t be filling out any change-of-address cards.
The why depends on whom you ask. But the most wired-in guy in NBA circles has heard quite a bit from the folks in charge of making a potential Simmons trade.
On his latest podcast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski chatted with ESPN Senior Writer Ramona Shelburne about all the latest surrounding the absent Sixers star, and from what he’s hearing, the rest of the NBA doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Sixers GM Daryl Morey.
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“The value is … there are a lot of teams who want him, but I don’t know there’s anybody who thinks we can’t live without him. They certainly don't value him at the level Philly has wanted in trade packages.”
"And so you've seen, you know we reported last week Sacramento said 'We're out.' They've been telling teams that. Other teams, they feel not only is the asking price too high from Philly, even if it went down some it would still be too high. It won't get far enough down for them to make a deal. They just don't want to waste time on it."
As disappointing that sounds to those who want the Sixers finally rid of Simmons, it’s completely understandable that teams have a diminished value for Simmons, compared with Morey.
Here’s the thing: Sixers fans saw Simmons turtle up when the chips were down in the playoff series against the Hawks. You know who else saw that? EVERYONE. Including, and not limited to, 29 NBA General Managers.
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Add to that equation the temperament of a player who is so insulted by the comments from his head coach and a teammate, that he’s willing to sit out most of an entire season – at the very least – rather than be willing to patch things up, and get back to work on winning a championship.
It seems, at least for now, Morey is being patient to a fault, especially if you believe this paraphrased quote from Woj on Morey’s negotiating tact.
"There are a lot of GMs who will tell you, I had one tell me today, certainly a team that has the pieces to do a Ben Simmons' trade... 'Daryl has to call me. I'm not calling him. He has to call me with offers.' There are teams who feel that."