Warriors reportedly walk away from Ben Simmons trade after Sixers asked for 'outlandish' return
The Ben Simmons sweepstakes is on, and already the Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly had trade talks with a few teams about shipping Simmons out of town. However, they haven't gotten any traction yet, and it appears to be due to the Sixers' incredibly high asking price.
According Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the most recent team to walk away from Simmons trade talks is the Golden State Warriors. The Sixers reportedly asked for Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the Nos. 7 and 14 picks in Thursday night's NBA draft and two future first-rounders, all in exchange for Simmons.
Pompey reported that the Warriors "quickly" turned it down.
Spurs, Raptors reportedly turn down Simmons trade offers
The Warriors aren't the only team that's reportedly been interested in acquiring Simmons. And they're also not the only team to have reportedly walked away from talks due to GM Daryl Morey's high asking price.
According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Conner, who spoke about Simmons on "The Mismatch" podcast, the San Antonio Spurs ended trade talks after the Sixers asked for four first-round draft picks, three pick swaps, and a young player.
Action Network reported that the Toronto Raptors walked away when the Sixers asked for Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s draft.
Pompey spoke to an NBA executive and got a pretty fair assessment of the situation:
One league executive said the Sixers are making “totally outlandish offers.”
Sixers highly value Simmons, but do others?
One thing appears to be clear: the Sixers value Simmons very highly. Despite his performance in the playoffs, Simmons is ridiculously talented and has a high ceiling. He's already an elite defender, which would be an asset regardless of which team he's on. And we know he can shoot — we've seen him do it — even if he couldn't do it near the end of the Sixers' playoff run.
The Sixers know what they have with Simmons, and that's why they're charging teams a premium to acquire him. But here's the big question: will any other team value Simmons as much as the Sixers do?
Thus far, the answer seems to be no. And if Morey won't read the room and lower his asking price, then Simmons probably isn't going anywhere.
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