NBA Insider Claims Daryl Morey is Willing to Trade Sixers' Ben Simmons
The NBA season officially tips off on Tuesday night, and James Harden remains a member of the Houston Rockets. Although the superstar guard is no longer looking to hold out until he gets traded, Harden is still seeking a trade. And the Rockets seem more willing to make it happen these days, if the price is right, of course.
As expected, the Philadelphia 76ers are in on the action. As the team's President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, comes from Houston, many believe a reunion between Morey and Harden is inevitable. However, Morey's connection to Houston won't allow him to get Harden at a discount price.
The Sixers have to offer up their two-time 24-year-old All-Star Ben Simmons. That's not all. According to a handful of reports, the Rockets also want several first-round picks and possibly a young player on a rookie contract as well. As expected, the Sixers didn't pounce with that price as it's an expensive cost.
For a while, it seemed the Sixers weren't even willing to cough up Simmons as they are interested in seeing the Simmons and Joel Embiid duo go to work under a new head coach with better-fitting personnel around them.
But multiple reports late last week disputed that claim, which forced Daryl Morey to put out a statement regarding the rumors pertaining to Simmons' availability in the trade market. "We are not trading Ben Simmons," the President of Basketball Ops told Shams Charania of The Athletic. "He is an important part of our future.”
Then, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers went ahead and shot down the claims as well. "None of this has started from us," Rivers said on Friday. "I gave Ben a call [on Thursday night], but I'm not going to share what we said. You know, it's unfortunate, but it's a part of our business. It is what it is."
The Ben Simmons-James Harden trade rumors won't go away until the Rockets deal the 31-year-old guard. Not only because fans would like the narrative to keep going with hopes of the Sixers landing Harden, but because NBA Insiders ultimately don't believe Morey is sincere based on what they've heard.
"Daryl Morey, in my view, and this is not a character assassination, it’s just a statement, he is not credible with what he says publicly about his trade intention," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst on 'The Hoop Collective' podcast. "He comes out the other day and says, ‘We’re not going to trade Ben Simmons.’ I do not find that credible. In addition to the fact that very good reporters have reported that Ben Simmons is available, and I’ve heard myself that Ben Simmons is available."
Where the rumors are coming from here is important. As Rivers said, the Simmons-related rumors aren't getting leaked from Philly's side -- and the timing of reports regarding the Rockets' willingness to expand their search for possible trade suitors make the 76ers head coach's claim believable as it seems Simmons' name is being thrown out there as an attempt to gain leverage.
But then again, Windhorst makes a valid point. Morey has been in this position before by telling a high-profile player (Chris Paul) that he had no plans to trade him before eventually sending him off to Oklahoma City just days later. While both situations have different circumstances, we won't truly know whether Simmons is actually tradeable or not until Harden's future is finally decided.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
