Sixers’ Rival an ‘Emerging Suitor’ in Ben Simmons Trade Talks: Report

A new Eastern Conference team has emerged as a potential suitor for the Philadelphia 76ers‘ Ben Simmons.

According to a report by insider Marc Stein, the Atlanta Hawks are an “emerging suitor” for the disgruntled NBA star. Just a year after making a surprising appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks are struggling midway through the season. At 17-21, Atlanta is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference — 4.5 games behind the sixth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers for a locked-in playoff spot.

In other words, they’re in real danger of missing the postseason. Unless they can swing a deal for a major star such as Simmons, of course.

Why Hawks Are ‘Emerging Suitor’ for Simmons

From Stein:

“It was suggested to me this week by one league source to keep an eye on Atlanta as an emerging suitor for Philadelphia’s Simmons,” said Stein.

“The Hawks don’t appear to have an available star on the Lillard/Beal level to make the sort of offer Philadelphia seeks for Simmons, but they have numerous enticing trade pieces to try to bring in other teams and expand the options in a theoretical multi-team trade construction. The prospect of a Trae Young/Simmons combination, given the defense Simmons could bring to Atlanta and the devastating playmaking duo he could form with Young, would certainly intrigue me.”

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Sixers Not Eager to Swing Simmons Trade

Due to Simmons’ massive salary (he’s due $33 million this season), the Sixers will be hard-pressed to find a deal with a trade suitor in a one-for-one scenario. The more likely scenario sees the Sixers dealing with multiple teams in order to unload Simmons for either a star of their liking, or a package deal of players that Philadelphia finds suitable.

With that being said, while it doesn’t appear Simmons is any closer to making his return on the court, the Sixers’ goal is to still get Simmons to return this season. Even if that’s not the case, Philadelphia isn’t pressing to make a trade deal this season; they can very well wait until the offseason to swing a trade if they don’t find any enticing offers in the middle of the season, as Stein notes.

“Convincing Simmons to rejoin the team and play as much of the remaining schedule as possible, according to one source familiar with Philadelphia’s thinking, is the club’s “goal No. 1″ when it comes to the wayward playmaker…

Yet it has likewise been evident for weeks, if not months, that the Sixers don’t subscribe to the notion that they are wasting a year of Joel Embiid’s prime if they hold off on a Simmons deal until the offseason,” says Stein. “Philly’s fear is that it could do something much more damaging and squander the opportunity to acquire a true complementary star to Embiid if it rushes into a deal this season for the various headliners it could get immediately, like Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox or Cleveland’s Collin Sexton or the best package long-established interested teams such as Minnesota, Indiana or San Antonio could present.”

The Sixers won’t have any shortage of suitors for Simmons. The Hawks emerging as a potential trade partner is just the latest example of this.

However, Philadelphia isn’t subscribing to the fear of wasting one year of Joel Embiid’s prime by having Simmons sit on the bench. The Sixers will pull off a deal when they’re ready to make one.