Getty Ben Simmons, left, and Daryl Morey, right, of the Philadelphia 76ers
The decision to get rid of Ben Simmons wasn’t a hard one. Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey didn’t have much of a choice after the disgruntled point guard sulked his way out of town.
The Sixers successfully traded him to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. There was plenty of reaction on TV and Twitter, including a scorching hot take from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. The former Philly journalist didn’t like the deal from a Sixers’ perspective. He thinks February 10, 2022 could “potentially” go down as the “worst day” in Morey’s career.
Smith said: “This could potentially, not definitely, potentially go down as the worst day in the career of Daryl Morey. The worst day.”
The Brooklyn Nets are trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
Why? Smith pointed to the departure of Seth Curry — “one of the premier shooters in the game” — and the fact that an Eastern Conference rival got better. That’s right. Smith believes Simmons is a perfect fit in Brooklyn due to his playmaking ability, ball-handling skills, and defensive prowess. Plus, Andre Drummond gives the Nets the big body they desperately needed.
“You gave up two first-round picks. How do you go from asking for first-round picks to giving up two of them. That makes no sense to me whatsoever,” Smith said. “So when I look at it from that perspective and whatever else they gave up, think about Ben Simmons and how he complements KD [Kevin Durant] and Kyrie [Irving]. You take all those things into consideration and I don’t think there’s any doubt that Brooklyn benefits from this trade.”
This could potentially go down as the worst day in the career of Daryl Morey.
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Sixers Looking for Backup Center
Drummond was enjoying a resurgence in Philly this season backing up Joel Embiid. He was a double-double machine and even started 12 games due to injuries and COVID-19 absences. He scored four points and grabbed seven boards in his final game as a Sixer.
Now the team needs to find a replacement for Drummond. The biggest name to monitor is Tristan Thompson who could be getting a buyout in Indiana. The Pacers acquired him from Sacramento as part of a six-player trade on Tuesday. The team is “mulling” the decision to buyout Thompson or play him, according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star.
The #Pacers are still mulling the decision to buyout Tristan Thompson or play him, per source.
The 6-9 big man is in the final year of his contract and is owed $9.7 million this season.
The Sixers did get 6-foot-7 forward Paul Millsap from the Nets, but they’ll be looking for another big man. Charles Bassey — their second-round pick in 2021 — has flashed in limited minutes. Ditto for Paul Reed. Other buyout market options among big men include Bismack Biyombo, Mike Muscala, Robin Lopez.
Doc Rivers Wants Another Point Guard
Shake Milton has missed 27 games so far this season due to injury. That has made for a thin rotation at the point guard spot, with starter Tyrese Maxey playing exhaustive minutes.
Buyout candidates I like for Philly
Dennis Schroder
Tristan Thompson
DJ Augustin
Cory Joseph
Ish Smith
Derrick Favors
Eric Bledsoe
Tomas Satoransky
Bismack Biyombo
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed his desire for another guy to throw into the mix when he met with reporters ahead of the trade deadline. The Sixers didn’t get him one on Thursday.
“We need a point guard,” Rivers said. “And we’re looking but they don’t grow on trees, as you know. We may do nothing, and you can only do something if there’s something there, but it’s clearly something we’re looking for. That and size.”