Sixers' Ben Simmons Shrugs Off Trade Rumors Involving James Harden

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons has seen his name in the press a lot lately for reasons that aren't necessarily ideal. As superstar guard James Harden constantly made it clear he wanted off of the Houston Rockets over the last two months, the Sixers were consistently linked to the former MVP because of his connection with Philly's President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey.

Although Morey consistently denied ever including Ben Simmons in any possible trade talks, many reports have conflicted his claims. All the way up until the moment Harden was traded on Wednesday afternoon, the Sixers were rumored to be willing to part ways with Simmons if they could get Harden in return.

Ultimately, Harden landed with the Brooklyn Nets as the Rockets got involved in a three-team deal, including the Nets and the Indiana Pacers. Meanwhile, the Sixers came up shorthanded. Not only did Philly fail to land Harden, but they're also stuck with Simmons, who might think his team's new front office doesn't believe in him long-term after he was signed to a max contract a season ago.

On Wednesday night, rumors speculated that Simmons expected to get moved for Harden. However, when he realized he would remain a member of the Sixers, Simmons was reportedly "ecstatic," according to ESPN's Marc Spears.

Hearing Ben Simmons was pretty ecstatic to not be traded from the Sixers to Houston for James Harden and believes his team is capable of bringing a title to Philadelphia. Doc Rivers is also a huge fan of Simmons and believes the best is yet to come with two-time NBA All-Star.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 13, 2021

Following Thursday's game against the Miami Heat, Simmons spoke publicly for the first time since the Harden deal went through. While he didn't necessarily give off an 'ecstatic' vibe as described before, Simmons did make it apparent that he's happy to remain in Philly. As for any concerns about Simmons being upset with his organization's willingness to include him in any trades, the fourth-year guard assured the media that he understands the situation and doesn't hold anything against his franchise.

"This is a business, and things like that happen," Simmons said in regards to the trade rumors following Thursday's win over the Miami Heat. "The only thing I can control is how I approach my workouts, the games, and my day to day things. I'm just trying to be professional, do the right thing, and help my team get wins."

Although trade rumors can be stressful and could take a mental toll on players, Simmons made it clear he isn't going to let everything he hears through the grapevine affect his mindset. "I had a great time tonight," Simmons said after checking in the game for 34 minutes on Thursday.

"You know, I'm blessed I get to play the game I love every day at the highest level in the world," Simmons continued. "There are far worse things going on in the world, so I'm in a blessed position. If you told me I would never play the game again, that would be a different story."

Fortunately for Simmons, he gets to continue to play the game, and he gets to play it in Philly, where he revealed he remains happy despite all of the outside noise that has gone on over these last couple of months. While Harden's move from Houston to Brooklyn might not kill Simmons-related trade rumors entirely, it certainly quiets everything down for the time being.

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