Sixers Rumors: Timberwolves Showed Interest in Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons?

When Ben Simmons formally requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, only a handful of teams were linked to having an interest in the three-time All-Star.

Among those early suitors was the Minnesota Timberwolves. As Minnesota has a solid team with an All-Star veteran in Karl Anthony-Towns, an emerging second-year guard in Anthony Edwards, and a solid veteran guard in D'Angelo Russell, Minnesota has strongly considered bringing Simmons in to take them over the top.

But there's been one significant problem; the Timberwolves aren't willing to meet Daryl Morey's high asking price for a trade centered around Simmons.

As the Timberwolves are unwilling to include any of the three names mentioned above in a trade for Simmons, the Sixers don't get a player that can help them win now in a two-team trade with Minnesota. 

Reports have suggested the Sixers requested significant draft capital from the Timberwolves, but Minnesota doesn't want to mortgage its future on Simmons. Recently, there's been a few reports suggesting that teams could land Simmons for less if they take on Tobias Harris' hefty contract.

Sources with knowledge of the situation say that the Sixers aren't actively shopping Harris. Regardless, Shams Charania of The Athletic recently reported that Minnesota has "indicated an openness to discussing" a Simmons-Harris package. 

"The Minnesota Timberwolves have also remained in conversations with the 76ers, but are unwilling to meet Philadelphia’s high threshold for draft picks. Minnesota has indicated an openness to discussing a package that includes Simmons and Tobias Harris, sources said, but that offer would not come with draft capital from the Timberwolves and the 76ers do not view both players as part of a salary dump trade. The gulf in perspective is why there hasn’t been much traction so far."

From the beginning of the Simmons saga, it was apparent that if the Timberwolves wanted the three-time All-Star, there would more than likely need to be at least one other team involved as they aren't willing to move any of their core pieces.

At this point, that remains the case. A Sixers-Wolves deal involving Simmons wouldn't net Philadelphia what they are looking for, which is an All-Star prospect. While it's been suggested the Sixers could settle for a haul of draft picks that would be too good to pass up, Minnesota doesn't seem to be open to doing that either.

Perhaps, Minnesota expressing interest in the idea of taking Harris' contract off of Philly's books is the Timberwolves' last attempt to convince the Sixers to send Simmons their way. Any deal with Minnesota excluding Towns, Edwards, or Russell more than likely won't be of interest to the Sixers whether they are exploring the idea of parting ways with Harris or not. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.