NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Ben Simmons' 76ers Status, Potential Trade Suitors
Will Ben Simmons play for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 season? Will he play for a different team? Or will he not play at all? At this point, nobody knows, but there continues to be plenty of speculation.
Simmons is still on the 76ers roster, even if he's not playing in their games. He missed all of training camp and the preseason, and he hasn't featured in any of Philadelphia's first 10 regular-season contests. However, a trade seems no closer to coming to fruition despite rumors swirling for months.
For now, Simmons continues to sit out, and he's back to getting fined. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers have again decided to start docking Simmons' game salary, taking the $360,000 he earns each game and putting it into an escrow account.
Philadelphia was doing this before, but it stopped when Simmons revealed that he wasn't mentally ready to return to action. So what's changed?
Wojnarowski reported that the 76ers have returned to fining Simmons (and plan on continuing to do so) because he hasn't been cooperative with their physicians with regard to his mental health and hasn't been fulfilling other basketball-related obligations, saying:
"Sixers officials believe that they have been supportive of Simmons' stated need for mental health assistance and that they are left no choice but for these actions in response to the three-time All-Star's refusal to provide basic details of his course of mental health meetings, evaluation or treatments or to accept consultation with any specialists arranged by the team, sources said."
Although Simmons has appeared at 76ers practices and team activities in recent weeks, he hasn't withdrawn his trade request. And while it's not known whether that's still what he would prefer, there continues to be buzz about potential deals.
During an appearance on the HoopsHype Podcast, The Athletic's Anthony Slater said there are some Golden State Warriors staff members who "would be intrigued by the idea" of acquiring Simmons. However, it's not a guarantee that the Warriors would pursue a trade.
Slater added that Golden State owner Joe Lacob has been vocal about "not believing in Simmons' fit with the Warriors" and that he's been hesitant about parting with some of the team's young players, such as James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
Another team featured in Simmons trade rumors has been the Minnesota Timberwolves. And according to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North, Timberwolves executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta has expressed interest in Simmons, although it's possible that it has waned.
"Sachin Gupta has not even reached out to Philadelphia about Ben Simmons for a couple of weeks," Wolfson recently said on his podcast (h/t Justin Grasso of Sports Illustrated). "Yes, about three-and-a-half, four weeks ago he did plant the seed with the Philadelphia front office that, 'Yeah, I'm interested in Ben Simmons,' but I'm now told he hasn't had any dialogue about Ben Simmons with Philadelphia for a couple weeks."
Beyond that, it's not clear what teams may have interest in trading for Simmons. Bringing in the 25-year-old would be a sizable commitment given he is in the second season of a five-year, $177 million deal.
At some point, there will be resolution to the Simmons saga. But it doesn't seem like anything is imminent.
