Sixers Rumors: Philly's 'Sights Remain' on Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard
When the Philadelphia 76ers made Ben Simmons available for a trade per his request, President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey had little intentions of selling lower than the set price tag just to honor the 25-year-old's request.
If a team wants Simmons on their roster, they'll have to cough up an All-Star caliber player. If they don't have one guy that moves the needle, then several young and valuable players along with several notable draft picks might do the trick.
But at the end of the day, it's clear what the Sixers want. As Damian Lillard grew skeptical of Portland's ability to build a contending team to surround him with, it seemed it was only a matter of time before he requested a trade of his own.
The same went for Bradley Beal, who lost two star teammates in John Wall and Russell Westbrook over the last year. At this point, though, it's becoming clear that Lillard and Beal are remaining loyal to their organizations for the time being.
That's bad news for the Sixers, who have yet to trade the disgruntled Ben Simmons. As they've come to realize that Simmons' value won't net them much in a trade right now, they would prefer he returns to the team to help them win some games.
One would think they've moved on from the idea of landing Lillard or Beal later on down the line, but Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report hints that the Sixers are still keeping that pipe dream alive at this time.
"Philadelphia's loftier sights remain set on Lillard and Bradley Beal possibly growing dissatisfied in Portland and Washington, respectively, sources said," Fischer wrote in his latest column regarding the Simmons saga.
While there certainly is a scenario where the Wizards or the Blazers get off to a slow enough start to encourage Lillard or Beal to change their minds about wanting a trade, there's still a question mark surrounding Portland and Washington's interest in the three-time All-Star, Ben Simmons.
Right now, there are a reported ten teams that have expressed interest in the star guard. Just the Blazers are mixed in with the nine teams that are known, and they were only discussing a CJ McCollum-centric trade in talks that didn't go very far.
As for the Wizards, unless they are the tenth mystery team that everybody is curious about, they haven't shown any interest in potentially trading for the Sixers' star. Anything is possible in the NBA, but the Sixers' plan to hope for Lillard or Beal to become available is just a dream scenario at this time.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
