The Sixers look like they are really trying to NOT trade Simmons. They are driving away teams with genuine interest. I have never really seen this before. I guess everyone in Philly is on board with this but it looks like a way to waste an MVP season by Embiid.
Seems like Morey is super confident he can do a sign and trade for harden this summer using simmons. If this is true I think he is undervalueing the cost of wasting this year of Embid.
How is he wasting this year? The Sixers are only a half game out of 1st in the East. Maxey has been developing nicely with Simmons not playing. I haven't seen anything to indicate there is a potential Simmons trade which would move the needle for the Sixers this year. The potential trading partners have been lowballing the Sixers.
It’s a bit silly how we all pretend to know what has been offered, but I’ll bite on the nonsense. It was rumored there was something around haliburton, Barnes and hield for simmons and Harris (some other pieces involved to make salaries work). I think they have a much better chance of winning the championship this year if they do that trade. And battling Cleveland for the top seed in the east Id obviously just indicative of the bucks and nets having a lot of injury problems this year. They would obviously be significant underdogs against a healthy bucks or nets teams without making any trades. If you disagree you should definitely make a bet because the 76ers are currently +850 to win the east and an even more wild 20-1 to win the chipZ (I don’t recommend making these bets in general as they are terrible odds). In other words they are wasting a brilliant year from Embid like I originally said. I think a player like Halliburton could really help this year.
Your first thought to NOT bite on the nonsense was correct. Nobody knows what is really being offered, but more than that, it's only Feb 1 today. There are nine more days in the stare-down and any decent GM knows not to blink yet and give up something more valuable. Morey knows this better than anyone so he's sticking to his guns for nine more days. He doesn't care about wasting a year of prime Embiid. He wants an elite player in return, but frankly I don't think he'll get one. Simmons just ain't in that category.
No one knows what rumors are real or not. As to the SAC trade, I read that SAC didn't want Harris (or at least I think I saw that).
The point that PHI wants an elite player is pretty clear. But is Haliburton elite? Is Heild or Barnes? Some seem to think so, I don't. If they were, SAC would be a good team. Harden certainly is, even if diminished some with age. So they have to decide whether to take what is behind door 1 today or wait and hope that maybe they get Harden. If they do take something now, you can't ignore the opportunity cost associated with that. I don't think they are crazy to wait, at least if Haliburton and Heild is the best current option. If it is for Lillard, I would be more interested.
I suspect nothing happens and they end up with Harden. Just feels like where this is headed. If they do end up with Harden, hard to call it a bad outcome. If they wait and don't get Harden (or Lillard or Beal or other elite player), that is different. Then the criticism will be warranted.
Why would the criticism be warranted? If there isn't a good trade available that moves the needle for the Sixers, the correct decision is to wait until the offseason regardless of what eventually happens. Any trade available now is most likely still going to be available in the offseason.
There have been plenty of rumors/reports that the Kings won't trade Haliburton for Simmons. Even if Simmons and Harris for Haliburton, Hield and Barnes were to be available, I don't think it is a good trade for the Sixers. Simmons and Harris are the best two players in the trade. You'd be banking on Haliburton developing to a star level player and doing so quickly. Hield and Barnes aren't worth much if anything at all.
Because they will have misjudged the market for Ben Simmons and failed to maximize a great Embiid season as a result
Well said. With a center that has had his fair share of injuries, you have to maximize every healthy season.
You guys sound like you're playing NBA2K. You can't maximize every season in real life. Bad trades and even mediocre trades set you back.
Also, trades at the deadline rarely make a significant positive impact. The ones that do are smaller role player trades to fill a gap. What's the last big trade at the deadline that actually made a difference for that season? Thinking that a Simmons and Harris for Haliburton, Barnes and Hield trade would make a positive difference is truly video game thinking. Even if that was actually a good trade which I don't think it is, you can't incorporate that much change in less than half a season to become a championship contender.
You really oddly defend the 76ers. What has Morey done in his career to suggest he is really a brilliant gm that will make the right deal. He traded Paul for Westbrook. He gave away Westbrook for nothing. He didn’t take jarret Allen for free when he traded harden. His one clear good move as a gm was trading for harden. Embid is in his eighth year and about to turn 28. The deal with the kings wouldn’t just help this year, haliburton is dramatically improving each year and could be an all star next season. He is that good. Get away from the train wreck of playing next to the ball dominant low efficiency fox and horrible coaching he is going to look a lot different. You can for whatever reason act like there is no chance Morey is possibly making a wrong move or misjudging the market, but it’s clearly a very distinct possibility. Especially judging from his history of trades.
I think the Chris Paul to Houston trade was one of the greatest GM moves of all time.
He pretty much openly tampered without penalty to get a player on another team to opt in to his contract so he could trade for him. But Morey still didn't have the contracts to make a trade. So Morey essentially created tradeable contracts out of thin air (giving up no assets in the process) to make the deal work.
That was such an all around genius move. He got about as close to a championship as you can possibly get without winning it with that move too.
